Opposites Attract
by Jaded Star24
Summary: Obi-Wan disapproves of his new mission partner, and she thinks he's got less personality than a wall. Despite that the two can't seem to get away from each other even after their disastrous mission is complete.
1. Chapter 1

**-1-**

Charismatic, witty, intelligent, beautiful, all of these words had been used to describe the newly knighted Jedi Meleana Ariadne. Though none had ever been used by her mission partner, and as she watched the pots and pans fall from the cabinet above her she could think of a few he might be using to describe her when the clatter woke him.

Clumsy, stubborn, overly sarcastic, rash, he stopped short of stupid, then rethought, stupid did seem to fit. Obi-Wan Kenobi rolled out of bed with an unhappy sigh. He was thirsty, but it was clear from all the clatter that his mission partner was in the ships kitchen. As he walked towards the it he couldn't help but remember how he'd felt when he'd heard he'd be going on a mission without his Padawan. Relief, though he would never say it. He didn't think he was ready to train the boy and was glad that the senior members of the council wanted to spend time training him. He'd been indifferent to the idea of another newly knighted Jedi as his mission partner, and admittedly she had made a good first impression. Sadly the lasting impression was not so good. He gave her a side glance as he walked into the kitchen she was hunched over picking up the mess of pots and pans she had made.

"Sorry," she said in a sincere voice. He didn't see the roll of her eyes. She knew he was just seconds from launching into a lecture.

"And how exactly does a Jedi Knight manage to toss all of the pans on the floor?" he asked as he poured himself a drink.

She put the last pan back in the top cabinet and leaned against the counter. "Do you honestly think I would wake you up on purpose? Frankly I was enjoying the peace and quiet."

"As was I, that's why _I_ didn't disturb it."

Her dark purple eyes met his. "I said I was sorry."

"You don't look sorry," he turned away from her. "I'm going to see how far we are from Ithor."

"Have fun," Meleana said as he walked out. She looked down at her nightgown, felt her disheveled light-brown hair and sighed, she liked to at least look good for an argument.

Obi-Wan sat down in the control room and set his drink down on the flat control surface in front of him. He turned the chair to look at the nav computer. It was an older model that Meleana had customized, he wasn't sure if she had made it harder to use on purpose, or if she was really that incompetent. As he clicked through options the ship dropped out of hyperspace violently. His drink spilled all over the controls. He heard the clang of pots and pans as they fell from the cabinet in the kitchen and muttered something very un-Jedi-like under his breath. He ignored the mess on the control panel and looked back to the nav screen. He didn't think he'd pressed anything out of the ordinary.

"What the hell did you do?" Meleana, now dressed in a white sleeveless top and brown trousers demanded. She looked at the sparking control panel and her mouth dropped. "Force, Kenobi what the hell did you do!"

He really didn't want to say he didn't know. "I don't know."

Meleana rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a towel, though it was probably too late to prevent the control panel from being damaged. She sat down in front of the control's and wiped them down.

"You don't know!" she said in as calm a voice as possible having just processed what he had said. "What do you mean you don't know? How is it a Jedi Knight knocks us out of hyperspace, fries the control panel _and_ knocks all the pots and pans out of the cupboard!"

"Well it's your programming why don't you tell me?" he said with only a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Meleana took a deep breath to calm her self. "Just get out of here I'll see what I can do to fix _your_ mess," she wouldn't have been so hard on him if he wasn't always so hard on her. "No really leave so I can get to that computer before you do any more damage."

He walked out without another word and Meleana took his seat at the nav computer. The main controls sparked again Meleana left the nav screen and turned back to the main controls. She pulled up the protective metal panel on the top, obviously it wasn't protective enough. She had built the ship herself as a teenager. Her Master had decided it would help her learn patients. Apparently he didn't think having her build a speeder bike from scratch was good enough. She'd never been technically inclined before her Master had chosen these tasks for her, and she'd only recently put the finishing touches on the ship. Before his death, the ship had sat in a hanger bay in the Jedi temple being used only occasionally by other Jedi. When her Master died she'd suddenly found a new fondness for it. After getting permission from the council she gave up her room in the temple and moved into the ship. Now seeing the fried control panel she realized she'd become more attached to it than she'd known.

The Jaded Star, as she called it, wasn't just a hunk of metal, it was something she had left of her Master. Every inch of the ship reminded her of him. He'd helped her solder the wire that was currently setting fire to the rest of them; which brought to her attention the lack of a fire extinguisher in the control room.

She shut her eyes and sighed sadly before standing calmly. Surely she'd put a fire extinguisher somewhere on the ship.

"Did you fix it?"

She ignored Obi-Wan's question as she passed through the main room on her way to the kitchen. She opened the storage closet and removed the fire extinguisher. She knew she hadn't put it there, but it was exactly the sort of place her Master would stick one. He wouldn't have put one in every room. Keeping one somewhat hidden was his way of keeping her safe without coddling her.

Meleana resisted the urge to spray Obi-Wan down on her way to the control room. She put out the now flaming control panel and dropped the fire extinguisher to the ground. She sat back down at the nav computer. It, like everything else, was completely useless. She scratched her chin, she hadn't checked their position when she'd woken up and was unsure where in space they were.

She started to examine the smoldering control panel to see if any of it could be rewired or patched up in anyway. She nearly fell in as the ship shot back into hyperspace. She quickly turned back to the nav computer, it was still offline. She tried a few of the other systems, also off line. So why were they hurtling though hyperspace and where were they going?

"This is a nightmare," she muttered as she thought of all the ways in which things could go catastrophically wrong. She hurried back into the main room and removed a panel from the floor. She jumped into the lower level of the ship and quietly hoped her Master had hidden some repair parts down there.

"Did you fix it?" Obi-Wan yelled down.

"Nope." She yelled as she pried open a crate.

"So where are we going?"

"Hopefully not to become one with the force," Meleana kicked the crate full of old clothing. How did something like that even end up here? What did her Master think, she'd go on a mission with nothing to wear? "Though right now that sounds like a pleasant alternative to fixing this mess."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No," she wanted to tell him to strap himself to the front of the ship to buffer the cataclysmic crash they were likely headed for, but restrained her self.

She broke open a few more crates; none were filled with emergency parts. She looked around the store room. The speeder bike was the only thing left. She stared at it a moment and sighed. She walked over to the bike and sat down. She drove the bike over to the opening in the ceiling and lifted it into the main room with the force.

"Why do you have a speeder bike?" Obi-wan asked with some confusion as Meleana climbed back into the main room.

"I just keep it around for spare parts incase some idiot fries the ship," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She brought the speeder bike into the control room and began surveying the wreckage.

Obi-Wan spent several hours meditating in the cabin before finally deciding to check up on Meleana in the control room. He found her sitting in a pile of old burnt parts and dirty tools. Her face and hands were covered in soot.

"If you want to break something you'll have to wait until I've fixed something." she said as she delicately removed a few wires from her speeder.

"Have you made any progress?" He was careful to keep his voice level.

"It's either operable or inoperable, there is no in between stage."

"Did you at least figure out where we are headed?"

"No," Meleana started placing the wires in the control panel. "I have a few theories. One, we're heading to Ithor and everything will be fine, two we're headed beck towards Coruscant and everything will be fine. Three, we are going to continue on and stop at whatever random coordinates the ship has chosen. Four, we will keep on going and going until the ship runs out of fuel. And five, we plow into something and are killed instantly."

He watched her silently waiting to see if she would ask him for any help. He walked out once he was sure she wanted nothing to do with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Meleana opened her eyes and looked around her room. It was her room, her nightmare hadn't been real. She'd dreamed of her Master's death nearly every night since it had happened. She tossed the covers off of herself and rubbed her eyes. She opened the drawer in her nightstand and reached for the bottle of Corellian rum she kept there. She opened the bottle and lifted it to her lips. It was empty. As she stood, set on finding something else to help her get back to sleep, the ship jerked out of hyperspace. She stumbled forward.

They had been in hyperspace for several days, too long for them to be anywhere near Coruscant or Ithor. She hurried into the control room and looked out the view screen. Even with the parts from her speeder bike the controls were still inoperable. She peered out the view screen at the green planet before her. They had come out of hyperspace very near the planet, and were already being pulled towards its surface. Meleana couldn't see any obvious signs of technology. It was likely an uncharted world in wild space.

The ship sped up as the planets gravity took hold of it. "This is going to be a pleasant landing." Meleana said with a frown. She wasn't sure how much time they had. The ship had a parachute, which would help their landing a little.

She hurried back into her bedroom shouting to wake Obi-Wan. She slid a pair of pants on under her nightgown and slid her boots on before grabbing her utility belt.

She rushed into the cabin. "Obi-Wan! Wake up and get dressed!" She could feel the ship begin to shake as it entered the ships atmosphere. "Obi-Wan!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

He sat up in bed. "What?"

"We're going to crash!" she ran back to the control room, satisfied that he could take care of himself from that point forward.

She sat down in one of the chairs in the control room, at the very least she could be there to deploy the chute. As the ship came out of the planets atmosphere Meleana pressed the button to deploy the parachute. She pressed it again after nothing happened and held it down. "Oh Sith!" she nearly ran into Obi-Wan on her way out of the control room. "I'll be right back," she said as she passed him. She jumped down into the cargo hold, pried open the emergency door and used the force to jump onto the top of the ship. She carefully lowered herself into a sitting position. The metal of the ships exterior was too hot and smooth to get a good grip on. Meleana slid down towards the rear of the ship and straddled one of the engines. She used the force to pull off the panel that covered the parachute. It had already been unlocked when she'd pressed the button inside. As soon as the panel was off the parachute shot out. The ship jolted violently as it slowed. Meleana lost her grip on the engine, the ship spun to fall face down throwing Meleana hard into the hull. She blacked out just before she began to free fall towards the planet.

Obi-Wan was safely buckled into one of the seats in the cockpit wondering where Meleana had run off to when she flew past the view screen. "Oh dear."

He watched Meleana fall closer towards the surface of the planet. He didn't think jumping out to try and save her would do any good. There was a large body of water near where Obi-wan imagined the ship would be crashing. He force pushed Meleana towards the water.

Meleana opened her eyes, at first she didn't remember hitting her head or falling. The wind and sky above her confused her. She turned to look down at the rapidly approaching lake. She tried to use the force to slow herself down, but within seconds she hit the surface. It felt like hitting a stone floor, all of the air was knocked out of her. It wasn't the first time she'd fallen a long distance into a pool of water, and though she was sinking, and losing consciousness with no air in her lungs, she was fairly sure that this time she hadn't broken anything.

When the ship was near enough to the ground Obi-Wan jumped off, he tried to steer himself towards the lake. He hit the ground and ran into the water. Even though he had seen Meleana hit the water he found it difficult to place him self once he was submerged in the murky lake. He closed his eyes and focused on feeling her through the force. He swam down to the bottom of the lake, finally he felt something soft and warm. He grabbed Meleana and pushed off the lake bed. His lungs were burning. He gulped in air when they reached the surface. He was still out of breath when he lay Meleana flat down on the lakes shore. He put his hand over her face to see if she was breathing. She wasn't. At the point when he'd found Meleana attractive, before her personality had spoiled things, this hadn't been one of the ways he'd imagined pressing his lips against hers. On the other hand he'd resuscitated worse. After a few seconds she began coughing water into his face. He sat up and wiped his face, some how getting water spit all over him wasn't a surprising reaction from her.

"Thanks," Meleana said crawling onto her knees.

"What exactly were you doing outside of the ship while it crashed?" He asked getting to his feet. He offered her a hand.

"I had to get the parachute out," she took his hand, got to her feet, and looked around. The lake was in a clearing of a densely packed jungle.

"Well I guess we're even then."

Meleana searched for the ship. "I didn't know we were keeping score." She looked at Obi-Wan, he was shirtless, in sleep pants and covered in mud. She imagined she looked the same if not worse. "Did you see where the ship crashed?"

He shook his head. "I was busy. It should be over there," he pointed to the left.

They started walking through the mud towards the ship. It had cleared out a good number of trees sliding through the jungle. Animals were curiously inspecting the area, surveying the thing that had invaded their homes.

Meleana and Obi-Wan stopped and stared. If they had thought the ship was broken before, it was junk now.

Meleana exhaled. "We are going to need some parts."

"Some might be an understatement." He added.

She started pacing around the ship. "I'll make a list of what we need."

"Yes I saw a lot of mechanics on our way down." Obi-Wan said sarcastically.

Meleana perked up. "Really!"

He shut his eyes, somewhat amazed by her. "No we're in a jungle."

"There's got to be something. Another crashed ship, a settlement, something we can use to repair this mess." She couldn't allow herself to think she would be stranded in a jungle with only Obi-Wan for company. "I'll see what's damaged. Can you put some packs together for us? Maybe make us some breakfast?"

He shrugged. "Alright," there was no point in arguing with her. "Will you try contacting the council or should I?"

"I'll do it," Meleana walked off to begin her survey of the outside of the ship.

When she had finished her analysis of the ship Meleana met Obi-Wan in the main room. She winced as she slid into the small booth across from him. Her fall had left her with a few fractured bones and bruises on most of her body.

"How bad is it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Pretty bad," Meleana sighed. "The view screen is cracked, the hull is torn in a few places, we still have no controls. At least we're alive… I guess."

Obi-Wan watched her stare at the table pensively. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Meleana laughed. "Yeah."

"Why are you laughing?"

Meleana started plating food. "We are in big trouble here, and your only reaction is to offer me food. I can't reach the council either. I have no idea where we are. I'm not sure things could get worse."

"Well at least you're in good company," he said with a cocky grin.

Meleana glared at him. "Is there someone else here?"

"No, then I'd have said, 'at least I'm in good company,'" he said with a smirk.

"Did you get the packs ready?" Meleana asked pushing her plate away. Even eating was painful.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest first? We have no idea where we're going, or if we'll even find anything."

Meleana winced as she stood up. "Thank you for your concern, but I'd rather not be stranded on this rock any longer than we need to be. One nap isn't going to heal me."

The jungle was hot and sticky. The two Jedi paid little mind to the creatures that slithered past them. They had been walking for hours and were still no closer to finding any traces of civilization. They'd passed by an overgrown ship wreck a few miles back. Most of the parts were too damaged to be salvageable. The wreckage had been there so long trees had taken root through it destroying everything that had survived the crash.

Though Meleana hadn't said anything, she'd been in intense pain every step of the way. The uneven terrain of the jungle floor was beginning to get to her. Despite her efforts to keep up as she stumbled over roots she had fallen behind Obi-Wan. Each gasp of humid air was excruciating and she couldn't seem to get enough air into her lungs.

Obi-wan stopped sensing her distress. He turned around to watch her limp up to him. "We should rest."

Meleana shook her head. "No," she said through labored breaths. "I'm fine."

"You are not fine."

"The sun will be down in a couple of hours, I can keep going until then. We're just wasting time if we stop now." She wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Give me your pack then."

Meleana's knees went weak from pain as she tried to pull the pack off. Obi-Wan gently gripped her as she lurched forward.

"We're done. You're only making your injuries worse." Meleana looked more upset than she should. "What?" He asked.

Something had wrapped itself securely around Meleana's leg. Whatever it was felt large and powerful and was tightening its grip. "Back up," Meleana's voice was soft but intense.

He gave her a hesitant look but did as she asked and slowly took a few steps away from her. Meleana pulled her lightsaber into her hand with the force. As she bent down to slice into whatever had latched onto her leg a sharp pain went through her. She cried out, startling the thing latched onto her. It wrenched her off of the jungle floor into a near by tree. She slammed into the tree trunk upside down and braced herself for the pain she was about to inflict on her own body. She sat up screaming, and slashed her lightsaber above her foot into the creature and the tree. There was a shrill scream from the tree tops as Meleana fell to the ground. A pitiful cry escaped her lips when he body thudded down on the damp ground.

Obi-Wan looked up into the tree tops waiting to see if whatever was up there was coming down. He walked over to Meleana and crouched down next to her. Her eyes were clenched shut and she was taking slow deep breaths.

"We _had_ to stop?" Meleana asked without opening her eyes. She rotated her ankle and winced. "I twisted my ankle."

He furrowed his brow in concern. It seemed unwise to stop her now if something was hunting them, but Meleana was in no condition to keep walking. Wrapping an arm around her to take weight off her ankle would hurt her ribs. He sighed grudgingly. "I'll carry you."

Meleana didn't like that idea. "I'd rather walk."

He shook his head. "If you keep weight off your ankle you'll be able to walk on it tomorrow. If you walk on it now it will take days to heel."

Meleana sat up slowly. He was right, and they couldn't stay where they were. He helped her pull off her pack and slung it over one shoulder before lifting her into his arms.

They walked for another hour before stopping to set up camp for the night. Meleana wrapped her ankle in gauze while Obi-Wan got out their bed rolls and ration packs.

Meleana hated relying on other people, and hated feeling weak. Being carried by someone she was sure already felt superior to her was humiliating. On the other hand being left alone and injured in the jungle would have been worse than a bruise to her ego. She got the sense that Obi-Wan didn't think she was ready to be a Jedi Knight, and she didn't fully disagree with him. The council had decided she was far enough along in her training when her Master was killed to face the trials to become a Jedi Knight, and she had passed. She knew she was young, impulsive and emotional to say the least. She didn't need someone reminding her of all of her faults all the time. Yet without her judgmental company she'd be in much bigger trouble than she already was. Or none at all, since this whole mess was his fault.

Obi-Wan handed her a canteen and a ration pack and sat down next to her. "I'm not going to hold an injury against you. The distance you fell should have killed you, the fact that you're alive and relatively unharmed is incredible."

Meleana averted her eyes. "I've had some experience." The memory of her Master pushing her, hearing him scream, hitting the rocks in the ocean bellow, flashed through her head.

Obi-Wan sensed the sudden change in her emotions and decided to change the subject. "Where did you get the crystal for your blade?" he asked the first question that came to mind. Meleana's blade was violet, and as far as he knew there were no violet crystals on Ilum.

"Dantooine. I insisted on purple," she smiled. "If I'd known better I would have just gone to Ilum and settled for green. My Master wished me luck finding the caves, dropped me off on Dantooine and flew off," she shrugged. "At least the weather was better than Ilum." Meleana slid over to her bedroll. She had no appetite, all she wanted was sleep. She tossed her ration pack to Obi-Wan. "I'm just going to go to sleep. I'm not a big fan of dried food anyway." She tucked herself into her bedroll. "Thank you," she said before closing her eyes.

Meleana woke up with the sun. Between things crawling on her, and pain every time she moved, she hadn't had an easy night of sleep. The sun was just beginning to come up and there was barely enough light to see the trees around her. She had the feeling they were being watched, and was sure they were, but in a jungle teeming with creatures it was hard to tell who or what had their eye on them. She swatted a lizard off her neck and slowly sat up. She stretched her ankle, it, unlike the rest of her body, was feeling better. She heard the snap of wood behind her and resisted the urge to turn and investigate the sound. She sensed whatever was behind her was getting closer and felt something closing in around them. She reached over and grabbed Obi-Wan's shoulder. At the same time Meleana felt something hard press against her back. Something hissed behind her, but it sounded more deliberate than an animal's hiss.

Before Meleana could turn to look at her attacker more came out of the trees. The creatures were lizard like humanoids with elongated faces, sharp teeth, and long tails. They each stood upright and were all over two meters tall. Some were dressed in mismatching armor and each carried a stun baton or vibroblade. The one behind Meleana slammed the stun baton into her back and pushed her down on top of Obi-Wan. The impact hurt more than the shock had.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked around. It didn't surprise him that things had gotten worse. He looked in the direction of a loud hissing sound and fixed his eyes on the largest of the creatures. It was clear by the ornamentation of his armor that he was the leader. The creature had a stun baton pressed firmly against Meleana's back and a vibroblade on her neck. He hissed again at them.

"Obi-Wan, please don't take this as a compliment, but your stomach is uncomfortably hard," Meleana mumbled against the fabric of his blanket.

"Well it isn't meant to be a pillow." He looked back up at the creature then down at her. "What are we going to do about this?"

"I'd like to not die, and it would be preferable to not experience anymore pain."

Obi-Wan looked at the creature again, sizing him up. "Do you think he'll take your head off if we try to fight?"

"There is a stronger possibility then I would like. Do they look like they want something?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure what." Obi-Wan slid his hands out from under the blankets and held them up. "We aren't here to cause any trouble. We're just looking for a way to repair our ship." Obi-Wan projected a calming energy through the force. Meleana was pushed harder into his stomach and the creature hissed loudly.

"Well at least _I'm _calmer," Meleana said rolling her eyes. "If they want to kill us why not just do it?" One of the other creatures came over and began carefully inspecting Meleana. She buried her head in Obi-Wan's stomach. "I'm being molested by a lizard!"

"I'm being molested by a human," Obi-Wan tried to keep some humor in his voice. After all there were many layers of cloth between them.

Meleana muffled a scream on Obi-Wan's stomach as the creature used brute strength to tare her utility belt off. Why did broken ribs hurt everywhere? She wondered before she was wrenched to her feet and held by the creature that had been inspecting her. His vibroblade was pressed firmly against her neck. Meleana took a better look at the creatures, everything they had looked salvaged, it was possible they might be able to find something useful in their village. She sensed Obi-Wan about to go for his lightsaber and pleaded with him through the force not to. He gave her a puzzled expression, then after taking another look himself realized what she was getting at. He moved one hand slowly to unclip his utility belt and tossed it onto the floor as he got to his feet.

They were brought to a primitive looking village in the trees and the rest of there belongings were taken. They were left in a wooden cage suspended high above the ground with nothing but underwear and socks.

Obi-Wan looked at the mark around Meleana's waist and winced. "That looks like it stings."

"Like hell," Meleana peered out of the cage. "Did you see anything useful on our way in?"

"There was a large structure at the base of the tree. That could be used to store salvaged speeders or a small ship," he looked Meleana over again and caught a glare. He rolled his eyes. "Half of your body is black and blue. I've seen plenty of half naked women before. Half the women in the order don't seem to bother much with clothing. You're nothing special."

"Tell me, did the women know you were ogling them, or did you find a well placed ventilation shaft?"

"This is really not an appropriate time for us to be bickering," Obi-Wan caught Meleana looking him up and down. "And what was that?"

"I've seen plenty of half naked men before. I was just comparing. You're nothing special either."

"Oh I see, you're upset because you aren't used to having a man look at you without complimenting your physique? "

Meleana shook her head. "No, I just like looking at men in their underwear. It's fairly common among heterosexual human females. I'm upset because I'm half naked in a cage covered in pain and stranded in a jungle. You on the other hand seem to be fishing for compliments."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath to quell his frustration. "Let's just get out of the cage."

"Fine with me," Meleana undid the latch on the cage with a wave of her hand and motioned Obi-Wan forward. "You deal with the guards."

He pushed the door open with the force, the guards rushed to close it and he pulled them into the cage. He and Meleana ran out onto the walkway and latched the gate shut.

They crept slowly through the village peering in windows and around corners, looking for any creatures or any signs of their belongings. They knocked any creatures they encountered unconscious with the force on their way up the walkway. It stood to reason that any new items would be stored in the leader's quarters before being given to any of the underlings. They assumed that the leader would be the furthest from the dark jungle floor.

They reached the last hut on the walkway and peeked into the window. There was a group of creatures inside going through their packs. One was fiddling with Obi-Wan's lightsaber. Meleana saw her utility belt sitting on a trunk next to the leader. Her lightsaber was still attached. She had a feeling what she was about to do would hurt, but saw no other way of getting out of there. She called her lightsaber to her with the force. The creatures all turned to watch it fly across the room. She heard Obi-Wan grumble before she launched herself through the window, lightsaber at the ready. Every movement was painful, but she'd gotten used to the pain. She sliced the hand of the creature clutching Obi-Wan's lightsaber first then quickly moved to block a swing of a vibroblade. Obi-Wan joined her seconds later, he force pushed their attackers back, hoping they would retreat, they seemed unfazed and continued their attack. The two Jedi finished off their opponents quickly. The creatures had size and strength, but were not used to fighting opponents with any skill. The Jedi dressed before continuing on.

They exited the leaders hut and looked down, it was a long drop to the jungle floor. They looked at each other.

"You can jump," Meleana said. "I've had enough falling for one week."

"It will be easier and safer then trying to walk through the entire village."

"I'm developing a fear of heights!"

He shook his head. "Please don't make me quote Master Yoda."

"Fine," Meleana huffed. "But if I die I will haunt you forever."

"Well I hope not, it would be a shame for you to follow me around instead of becoming one with the force."

Meleana shook her head and jumped onto the nearest branch.

They both landed back on solid ground safely and made their way towards what they hoped was a storage facility. There were no windows so they readied themselves for a fight before breaking the locks and opening the doors. They stepped inside, the building was unguarded. For the most part it appeared to be an armory. They both spotted a speeder at the same time and rushed towards it. It wouldn't be enough to repair the ship, but it would make exploring the planet infinitely easier. Meleana jumped behind the wheel before Obi-Wan had a chance and hotwired it. To their delight the engine hummed to life.

"We can go back to the ship and get some extra fuel," Meleana said checking the gages. The speeder was a nice enough model. All black, with an open top and black leather seats. Obi-Wan took a seat on the passenger side and they sped off.


	3. Chapter 3

It took several days of rough driving to make it out of the jungle. Both the Jedi were relieved to finally be in an open area. There were mountain ranges off in the distance capped with snow. The air was less humid and the sun shone brightly.

"What's that?" Obi-Wan pointed off into the distance at what looked like a settlement. They were too far away to tell for sure.

Meleana turned the speeder towards it. If they went much farther they wouldn't have enough fuel to get back. As they grew closer high steel walls came into view. It looked as though they had found something. Meleana pulled up to a large metal gate and waited. A few minutes later a human male appeared at the top of the wall.

"State your business."

"We're Jedi Knights, our ship was damaged and we crashed on this world. We're looking for parts to fix our ship." Meleana shouted.

"Jedi Knights?" The man asked in a confused tone.

"Wild space it is," she muttered under her breath. She turned to Obi-Wan and asked. "How do you explain what we do to someone who's never heard of us?"

"We're peace keepers for the Republic." Obi-Wan explained.

"We have no need for peace keepers." The guard shouted back. "If you need something from our ruler you will need to offer him something in exchange."

"Do you have ships? If you have the parts we need I'm sure we can reach some kind of agreement." Obi-Wan replied.

The guard disappeared without a word.

Meleana and Obi-Wan turned to look at each other. "Do you think he'll come back?" Meleana asked eyeing the heavy steel gate.

"It seems they might have the parts we need. We need to get in there."

Meleana tiled her chair back and shut her eyes. "Are you going to use a mind trick?" she asked with a hint of disdain in her voice.

"You don't approve of mind tricks?"

"I try not to use them. The one thing we all have is free will, and we have the power to take that away from people. That just seems wrong to me."

"We're not enslaving them, just convincing them."

"There's a very long list of powers we have that will inevitably lead us to the dark side, it amazes me that force lightening is on there and mind tricks aren't."

"I do agree that they should be avoided if possible, but they can be used to serve the greater good and to avoid an otherwise complicated or dangerous situation."

"And to get free drinks, and prime parking spots."

"Have you ever seen a Jedi use a mind trick for something so frivolous?"

"Not personally, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. I'm not saying you can't do it, or even that I won't, only that I disapprove of it."

The gate slowly began to open, a large group of guards were standing in two rows on the other side. The guards were all male wearing brown blast armor.

"Leave your vehicle off to the side, it is not allowed in the city." The head guard said.

Meleana pulled the speeder off to the side of the gate, got out next to the wall and walked with Obi-Wan to the gate. The guards looked at her and gasped.

"She can't come in dressed like that." The head guard said to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan looked past the guards to the civilians inside. The women were all wearing long modest dresses. He looked back at Meleana in her low cut sleeveless top, tight brown pants and filthy knee high boots. "Do you have anything more modest to wear?"

"This is the only shirt I've got that isn't caked in dirt."

"She'll have to wait outside." The guard insisted.

Obi-Wan went back to the speeder and grabbed the bottom layer of one of his tunics. "Put this on." Obi-Wan turned to the guard before he could protest. "This will be fine, you'll allow her to enter." he said with a wave of his hand.

"That will be fine, she may enter." The guard repeated.

Meleana put on Obi-Wan's oversized shirt and followed him into the city. Inside some modern technologies were evident, but no where near as prominent as they were used to seeing. Meleana stayed close to Obi-Wan trying to be less noticeable. Everyone they passed stopped to stare at her.

"Maybe I should have waited outside." she said softly to Obi-Wan as they were lead down the streets towards the palace in the center of the city.

"You're the one that knows exactly what parts we need for the ship. I'm sure it will be fine. They'll recover from seeing a woman in pants."

"I'd rather have to spend more time making the wrong parts work than not get any at all. What if my appearance gets us tossed out before we can even ask for the parts?"

Obi-Wan looked at the crowd of gawkers following them towards the palace. "Just stand behind me and let me do the talking."

Meleana nodded. "Not a problem."

They were escorted into the palace. Inside of the palace technology was much more prevalent. Droids were hard at work all over the palace, some of the machinery seemed needless. They were brought into a large under furnished room and told to wait.

Meleana and Obi-Wan bowed when the king and his entourage entered.

The king sat down in his thrown and looked at the new comers. "My guards say you are from the Republic. We don't often have visitors to our world. What brings you here?"

"We were on a mission when our ship was damaged. We crash landed here by chance. Our ship is badly damaged and we are greatly in need of assistance. We need to get to Ithor as soon as possible." Obi-Wan explained.

"I may have what you need," he looked more carefully at Obi-Wan. "You have weapons?"

"I assure you we mean you no harm."

The king laughed. "I believe that, anyone trying to assassinate me would know better than to bring a woman dressed like that," he pointed towards Meleana. "Are you adept at fighting?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Though we would rather not resort to violence in most situations."

The king seemed amused by Meleana trying to hide herself behind Obi-Wan. "Come out girl, I'm not going to have you arrested for being foreign." She stepped out and he smiled at her then looked back at Obi-Wan. "You're a lucky man."

"Oh no." Obi-Wan said shaking his head. "She's my mission partner."

The king nodded and pondered that for a moment. "I will give you whatever parts you need if you can do something for me. We've been at war with the province to the north since my father's father was king. They want the technology we have, but they cannot be allowed to have it. A month ago my daughter was kidnapped, I've sent my greatest warriors to find her, but none of my men have returned. The Queen of that land is a witch, and not just because of her cruelty. She refuses to give back my daughter, she took her only to hurt me. If you can return her to me I will give you what you need."

Obi-Wan looked back at Meleana, an action the king found very unusual.

"We should help him," Meleana said softly. "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe we crashed here so we could save this girl. We're already over a week over due on Ithor. What's a few more days?"

"Alright, what do we need to do?"

They were given a map with directions and fuel for their speeder. There were no roads through the mountains so they were given climbing gear. The king was fairly sure his daughter was being held in a fortress on the top of one of the larger mountains in the area. Getting to the mountains was easy, it was only a few hour drive in the speeder.

Meleana sat down on the ground and tried to attach the spikes she'd been given to her boots. They were too big. She tossed them back into the trunk of the speeder and looked through her pack for any other climbing gear, there was a pair of gloves made from tough material, which were also to big for her. She had a grappling hook with a long rope, but the belt that attached to it was too large and the material was too tough to put another hole through.

"This stuff is all too big for me!"

Obi-Wan gave her a sympathetic look. He was sure they hadn't meant to leave her with no gear, it was likely they'd given her the smallest sizes they had, but small men's sizes were still large on an average sized woman. He finished putting on his gear. "You go first, I can catch you if you slip."

Meleana looked at the daunting mountain in front of her. "I hope so." Meleana started climbing. Obi-wan let her get a head start before following.

It was several hours before they reached a ledge large enough to rest on. Meleana got there first and pulled out her canteen. She took off her pack and leaned against it. Obi-Wan joined her a few seconds later.

"I get the feeling this isn't going to get easier," Meleana said. "It's not even cold yet."

"What do you prefer, mountains or jungles?"

"Jungles," Meleana said without pause. "Mountains are harsh and rough and cold. I hate the cold. Humidity is bearable," she had a devilish twinkle in her eyes. "And there is something… sexy, about jungles."

"Sexy?"

"Jungles are hot, sticky and primal. Think about being in some nice resort in the heart of the jungle with some attractive blonde in a tiny swim suit lounging near a lagoon."

Obi-Wan nearly choked on his water at the mention of a blonde. "Why a blonde?" He asked in a more paranoid tone than he'd meant to.

Meleana smiled, intrigued by his reaction. "I figured if I said brunette you'd think I was implying something. Is there a blonde in particular you thought I was referring to?" She smiled widely and nudged him playfully with her elbow.

"No." he said avoiding her gaze.

"Lair. Come on, I'm not going to go tattle on you." Meleana laughed again at his discomfort. "I'm going to get this out of you! Is it going to be the easy way or the hard way?"

"There is nothing to get."

Meleana shook her head. "You can't lie to me Kenobi," she pulled out a ration pack for each of them and handed him one. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Or tell as it were."

He opened his ration pack. "I make no promises."

Meleana always liked a challenge. "Ok let me think of a good one. I can't tell you all of them."

"All of them! I'm sorry, how old are you?"

"Twenty-one; which has nothing to do with the story. Do you want a funny one or a sad one?"

"Funny." He answered hesitantly, not sure he wanted to continue this line of conversation.

Meleana bit her lip her eyes still had a mad sparkle to them. "Alright, when I was… seventeen I used to sneak out of the temple at night. It wasn't malicious, I just wanted to see what people did at night. I became pretty fond of this club, it's not to far from the temple. They had a restaurant in the front and drinking and dancing in the back. One of the waiters used to walk me home at night, well to where I told him I lived. He was a few years older than me, very cute. One night after the club had closed he kissed me. We got a little carried away on top of the bar. I guess my Master had been waiting outside to yell at me. He came in about ten minutes into it and pinned him to the wall with the force. I have never seen a man look so terrified. I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Needless to say I never saw him again, and my Master would check on me randomly throughout the night for the next several months."

"That really doesn't compare to the blonde."

Meleana heard the tenderness in his voice and her smile broadened. "Are you the romantic type? I would never have expected that from you. Hmm, I don't have a lot of love stories. If I tell you this one do you promise to tell me yours?"

"I don't see why you care."

"Come on, something has to distract us from our current plight. You jumped at the mention of a blonde and I am a curios person."

"Fine, if your story is good enough I'll tell you mine."

"Last year I was on a mission, a fairly long mission, on my own. I was protecting a senator's son. He was one of those people that just loved everything about life. He found joy in everything. At first I thought he was an idiot, which made him set on changing my mind. He didn't care what I thought about him, he just wanted me to see the world the way he did. I've never met a person before that I bonded with so deeply. I'll never be as optimistic as he was, but just coming around to the idea that that sort of optimism can work was a beautiful thing. I really loved him."

"So what happened?"

Meleana shrugged. "Nothing. Never mind the fact that he was a senator's son, I cared about him too much to ever do anything with him."

"You've never done anything with someone you care about?"

Meleana shook her head. "There are rules about that, there aren't any rules about the other stuff."

"Don't you think emotional attachment is inevitable when you're… you know."

"No. I haven't had a lot of repeat performances though."

"Well I admire your emotional detachment. The blonde was a childhood rival of mine. We decided we were too emotionally involved to be together," he looked at the disappointment on Meleana's face. "I'm sorry my stories aren't as detailed as yours."

"Oh… so just the blonde then?"

"No, there were a few others. It's not something I'm accustomed to talking about."

"We should get moving anyway."

It was a long time before they reached another ledge. They climbed well into the night before finally coming to a small ledge. It was barely large enough for both of them to lie down. The temperature had dropped significantly after the sun had gone down. Meleana lay both of their bedrolls while Obi-Wan removed his climbing gear. Meleana looked down and moved the bedrolls closer together.

She kicked off her booth and placed them along with her utility belt at the foot of her bed. "I'm exhausted," Meleana said crawling into bed.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Ugh, you and your obsession with food. I'll eat something in the morning. Right now I'd rather have an extra five minutes of sleep."

Day two was even more difficult as the rocks became icy and jagged. Meleana had put on the over sized gloves, which made getting a grip on the rocks harder. She was relying heavily on keeping her footing. When a resting spot came into view she started climbing faster. A rock came lose from beneath her feet. She held on with one hand and tried to find her footing. The glove on the hand clinging to the mountain side began to slip. She lost her grip and dropped into Obi-Wan's waiting arms. He had seen her struggling and secured his grappling hook to the mountain.

"You've got to stop falling." He secured one arm around her and continued climbing towards the ledge up ahead. Getting her over the ledge with him was a little clumsy. He wound up lying on his back still holding onto Meleana tightly.

Meleana looked down at him with a raised brow. "I promise I won't fall if you let me go now."

"I was just enjoying the warmth."

Meleana smiled wondering if now would be an inappropriate time to flirt with him. She kissed his lips tenderly and was somewhat surprised to feel him kiss back.

"What was that for?" He asked when she had pulled away.

"I thought I'd thank you by heating things up."

Obi-Wan released his grip on her. "We should keep going."

Meleana woke up first the next morning pressed against Obi-Wan. It was freezing and it seemed they'd both moved closer to each other throughout the night. She gently removed the arm he had wrapped around her. She grabbed a couple of ration packs and their canteens and nudged Obi-Wan awake.

"Ready for another fun filled day of mountain climbing," she asked tossing him a ration pack.

"We've got to be near the top." He looked up. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."

"I wonder how many of those warriors the king sent even made it to the top."

They moved at a quick pace that day in hopes they'd reach the peek before nightfall. Their hard work was rewarded when they reached it just before nightfall. Meleana reached the top first and lay down on the plateau she stretched out and made a gleeful sound. She jumped to her feet and looked down at Obi-Wan.

"We found the top!" she said clapping excitedly.

He smiled as he pulled himself up. "Thank the force."

Meleana dropped her pack and crouched down to find the map inside of it. She sat down and looked at the map then looked around. There were a few meters of clear snow covered ground leading up to a forest.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked Obi-Wan.

He sat down next to her and looked over her shoulder at the map. They had marked the area where the speeder had been left.

"We started climbing here and moved slightly to the east. We should be about here," he pointed to a spot on the peek of the mountain.

"And we're going there," Meleana ran her finger from his to the castle on the other side of the peek.

Obi-Wan pulled out a ration pack. "We should stay here for the night."

Meleana nodded and continued to look for landmarks on the map. "There's a hot spring!" she said with great excitement.

"How far is it?" He asked intrigued by the idea of a hot bath.

"It doesn't look too far, maybe two kilometers northwest. We could probably get there before the sun goes down." She caught the hesitation in Obi-Wan's eyes and tried to further convince him. "I would kill for a hot bath right now, besides who wants to negotiate with people that smell as terrible as us?"

"We'd better get moving then."

"Look at all the steam!" Meleana said jumping for joy as they approached the springs. There was no snow in the area around them. Meleana tossed off her pack and jacket then stopped and looked back at Obi-Wan. "Do you want to go first?"

"I wouldn't try to stop you even if I did."

She kicked off her boots. "Thank you!" she said joyfully trotting off towards the spring. She took her clothing off a few feet from the stream before submerging herself in the hot water. Meleana paused to put her long auburn hair into a bun. She took a few steps farther and the water got drastically deeper.

Obi-Wan's meditation was disturbed a loud crack from the trees behind the springs. He looked towards the sound. Rather than look at the trees his eyes fixed on the naked woman in the spring. Her head was turned towards the sound. He looked away before she could catch him staring. He shut his eyes and tried to meditate. His mind wandered to the memory of Meleana's lips pressed against his. He opened his eyes as he exhaled and once again his eyes fixed on Meleana bathing in the spring. He looked down at the floor quickly and tried again to meditate. Again all he could think of was Meleana on top of him, with less clothing than she had originally had.

"Your turn," Meleana's chipper voice interrupted his thoughts.

He quickly moved his hands onto his lap. "Right. How was it?"

"I'm not sure anything has ever felt that good," her tone of voice wasn't helping his current state of mind. "I'll get the camp set up." She grabbed the bedrolls off the pack and looked at Obi-Wan with a smile. "What's wrong? I promise I won't peek."

"Nothings wrong. I've got all night, I'm enjoying the… look of the springs."

Meleana looked up at the trees. "Wow that thing is huge!"

Obi-Wan nearly jumped.

"Look at that bird!" She looked away from the large bird in the tree above them and laid out the bedrolls. She lay down flat on hers, it was much warmer near the springs and sighed happily. "What's wrong with you?" She asked in a relaxed tone.

"It must be the thin air." He looked over at her. Her eyes were closed. He took his chance to make his way towards the water.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Meleana woke up first as usual. She grabbed two ration packs and sat down next to Obi-Wan. She shook him softly and waved the ration pack in front of him.

He opened his eyes and squinted at her. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing if the smell of food wakes you up."

"Shaking me woke me up. If you want to wake me up with something try something that doesn't come out of a wrapper."

"You have tried my cooking before right?"

He winced. "True. Just stick to shaking me."

Meleana opened her ration pack. "I'm so sick of these things. They say they are different flavors, but they all taste the same to me." Meleana finished half of hers in the time it took Obi-Wan to finish his and tossed it at him. "I can't eat any more of that crap."

Obi-Wan caught it with a shrug. No reason to let good food go to waste.

"Let's get to the fortress and get this over with. I can't wait to be eating real food and showering on a regular basis," she said packing her bedroll.

"That does sound nice." he said doing the same. "I'm not looking forward to explaining this mess to my Padawan."

"Don't tell him anything." Meleana said as they started hiking through the woods.

"He's going to wonder why I've been gone for so long."

Meleana shrugged. "He's not supposed to question you. Why do you have a Padawan so soon after being knighted? I can't imagine mentoring someone right now."

"I made a promise."

She could tell this wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "I can't believe this mission has been such a disaster. I know the council sent you with me because they have no faith in me and now I've completely reinforced their opinion of me."

"This was technically my fault. I'm sure they won't blame you for my mistake."

Meleana sighed. "A lot of the council members didn't think I was ready to be knighted. I sort of agree with them. Maybe they'll believe you, maybe not."

"You're very young, impulsive, outspoken…"

Meleana interrupted him. "Get to the point."

"You have many qualities that are less than desirable in a Jedi. On the other hand you wouldn't be the first Jedi in the temple who was disapproved of by the council."

"Was that supposed to help?"

"Well I'm not going to lie to you."

They reached the fortress several hours later. It was carved out of smooth black stone. The size of the fortress was intimidating. It was built in a way that the entrance wasn't visible.

"This place reeks of the dark side." Meleana said, unnerved by the energy coming from within the fortress.

"The King wasn't joking about the Queen being a witch."

"Why can't anything ever be easy?" Meleana looked up at the wall towering before them. "Do you think we can jump it?"

"If we climb a tree first." he said walking to the tallest tree near the wall. He started climbing with Meleana behind him. They force jumped up onto the wall and looked down. Inside the ground had been carved out, making the drop even farther than it had seemed on the outside.

Meleana looked at the long drop and frowned. "I'm sick of heights."

Obi-Wan jumped and Meleana followed. They landed on the ground. The area surrounding the black stone structure in the center was eerily quiet.

"Do you think they were expecting us?" Meleana asked.

"If they were they'll likely be waiting to ambush us inside."

"Great. Well if they already know we're here there's no reason to sneak around."

"What if they don't?"

The stone gates to the fortress opened.

"Oh I think they do," Meleana said.

A human male walked out followed by a dozen well armored warriors. "The Queen has been expecting you." he said stepping into the center of the courtyard.

The Jedi walked towards him.

"We were sent to collect the king's daughter." Meleana said in a calm tone.

"Many men have been sent to do exactly that. Yet the king still does not have his daughter. _If_ you can defeat my warriors you will be granted entrance to the fortress."

"You will take us to the queen," Obi-Wan said focusing on the man's mind.

He smiled wickedly back at Obi-Wan. "If you complete her tests, I just might." He turned and walked back inside leaving Meleana and Obi-Wan surrounded.

The warriors drew their vibroblades. Meleana and Obi-Wan both activated their lightsabers. Judging by their surprised reaction the warriors had never seen lightsabers or Jedi before. The Jedi could tell they were force sensitive, but obviously hadn't been as well trained. Meleana decided to work their surprise to her advantage. She force pushed half of them back. The other six hesitated slightly before rushing them. Obi-Wan force pushed one into the other half as they were getting back to their feet. The warriors still on their feet charged the two Jedi.

Meleana was a much more violent fighter than Obi-Wan. She'd been accused of enjoying it a few times in the past. She blocked strikes from both of the warriors on her, she gripped the arm of one with her left hand and coiled her arm around his. She spun him into the attack of the second warrior effectively using him as a shield before tossing him to the ground. She kicked the surprised warrior in the face knocking her back.

Obi-Wan handled his opponents in a far more graceful, and some might say, more honorable way. He blocked attacks from all of the warriors, moving his body out of the way of one while parrying the others with his lightsaber. The three warriors were sloppy fighters, more concerned about attacking than defending. It didn't take long for Obi-Wan to get the opening he needed to disable them. As his opponents dropped he saw another warrior fly past him into the stone wall. The seven warriors remaining were all on Meleana. Obi-Wan gripped two of the warriors with the force and slammed them to the floor creating an opening for him to fight back to back with Meleana.

Meleana swung low and ducked her body down to avoid an attack. Her lightsaber cut cleanly through one of the warrior's knees and into the leg of another. She thrust it upwards to block an attack, striking down the wounded warrior at the same time. Meleana force pushed the two still attacking her back into the wall as Obi-Wan stuck down his remaining opponents.

They deactivated their lightsabers and looked at the mess around them.

"I don't even want to go inside." Meleana said out of breath.

"Well after that I will not be going inside alone."

Meleana took her pack off. "That guy said they had tests for us. My guess is if we walk through the open door there will be all sorts of nonsense."

"Agreed," he said removing his own pack. "The roof is too high for us to jump."

"If I were waiting around to test someone I'd be somewhere where I could see everything."

Obi-Wan scanned the front of the fortress. "That window there, it's larger than the others."

"And very high up."

"We can make it. If you'd like I can find you a box."

"Because an extra foot is really going to help me," she sighed. "You first."

Obi-Wan pulled the glass out of the window with the force before vaulting off the ground into the opening. A very well dressed very surprised looking woman was standing in the center of the room. He took a step to the side to make room for Meleana.

"I see you decided against taking my tests." The queen said looking over Obi-Wan carefully.

Meleana landed on the floor next to him. "I need a nap," she whined. All of her force use had exhausted her. She looked up at the queen. "Please don't give me any trouble."

Obi-Wan gave Meleana a side glance. "We're here to collect the princes."

The queen laughed. "I can't oblige either one of you. The king won't raise the child to her full potential. If you insist on taking her I will be forced to give you trouble."

"Well we do insist." Meleana said, completely exasperated.

Neither of the Jedi could reach their lightsabers in time to block the force lightening that was shot at Meleana. It sent her flying back out the window leaving Obi-Wan alone in the room with the queen.

Obi-Wan's lightsaber was in his hand watching to see what the woman would do next.

"You're the first Jedi to come to this world in a very long time," she said in a relaxed tone. "It would be a shame for me to kill you both."

"She's not dead, but she won't be happy."

The queen shrugged. "If you want the girl you'll have to kill me."

Meleana came back through the window looking very unhappy. Her clothing had been tattered when she hit the ground bellow. Blood was dripping down her legs and arms. "What was the point of that!" she shouted. The queen fired another blast of force lightening at Meleana which she deflected with her lightsaber. "That is _not_ going to happen again." Meleana said in a commanding tone. "You are going to back off, let us take that child and let us leave without a fight."

"No I'm not."

"I'd listen to her," Obi-Wan said noting the change in Meleana's demeanor. "You don't want to fight both of us. As powerful as you may think you are you can't beat both of us."

The queen opened her mouth to speak.

Meleana raised her hand to stop her. "I swear if you say anything about 'the power of the dark side' I will disembowel you." Meleana looked her in the eye. "I _really _mean it."

"I sense-"

"Shhh," Meleana hushed her. "Don't want to hear it."

"I don't think she's going to cooperate," Obi-Wan said to Meleana, his eyes not leaving the queen. "And how is it you are so sure she's going to talk about the dark side? They don't always talk."

Meleana arched her brow at the Queen, she was dressed lavishly in a dress ornamented with jewels, a large ostentatious crown sat atop her head. "Look at her, if she's not up for a show I'm a gamorrean."

The queen put a hand on her hip. "Are you implying something?"

Meleana nodded. "I wasn't exactly being subtle."

Obi-Wan looked at both of the women with some confusion. "We aren't getting anywhere."

"Just give us the kid," Meleana pleaded. "Don't make us hurt you."

The queen shot force lightening at both of them, both the Jedi blocked.

"Are these your usual negotiating tactics!" Obi-Wan's attention shifted to Meleana. "You're not allowed to talk from now on. I'll do the talking."

She turned towards him. "My brain is literally fried!" Meleana lifted her saber and blocked a bolt of force lighting and turned back to the Queen.

Meleana looked at the queen more closely than she had before. She couldn't see a weapon on her. "You're unarmed?" She asked in shock. "And you're still standing here not doing what we say?" Meleana groaned. "Obi-Wan, watch her. Do some talking if it makes you feel good about yourself."

She walked through the nearest door. Inside a teenage girl was sitting on a bed toying with a data pad. "Are you the king's daughter?" Meleana hadn't expected her to be so old.

The girl nodded. "Are you my rescue party?" She asked putting her data pad down.

"Yep."

The princess looked at her warily. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah I'm bleeding. What does that have to do with anything?"

"And you're a woman."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well you don't seem terribly competent. I'm not going to risk my life by going off with an incompetent rescuer."

"Oh force," Meleana moaned. She walked back into the other room. "I'm not good with brats and you have a penis. Go talk to her," she said to Obi-Wan. "I'll watch this one."

Obi-Wan arched a brow, he decided he'd rather not examine her comment any further and walked into the bedroom. "Come one, we're taking you home."

The girl put down her data pad and looked him over. "Ok."

Meleana kept her eye on the queen as Obi-Wan explained how they were going to get out of the fortress to the princess. The queen flinched, which Meleana took to be an act of hostility. She force pushed her to the wall and held her there as Obi-Wan and the girl jumped out the window.

"You can't even break a force hold?" Meleana rolled her eyes. "I'm going to leave now, you are not going to send anyone to follow us. You are not going to follow us yourself. You are not going to try to abduct that girl again. If you do I will come back here with my ship and I will blast your little fort to hell," she said in a menacing tone. "Are we clear?"

"Empty threats," The queen spat.

"Obviously you don't know Jedi very well. If you are not going to behave yourself I suggest you attack me now so we can get this over with. I should warn you though, I won't just kill you, I will make you suffer like you cannot imagine." The Queen continued to glare at her defiantly. "If you don't believe me I implore you to try me." She held the queen's gaze until she looked down at the floor. "That's what I thought."

Meleana backed towards the window and released the queen from the force hold just before jumping. She landed on her feet this time and walked over to Obi-Wan and the princess. "How are we going to get her down the mountain?"

The girl folded her arms over her chest. "I have a name you know."

Meleana waited, assuming the princess would follow up with her name. "And what is your name?"

"Princess Thenna."

Meleana looked back at Obi-Wan. "How are we going to get Thenna down the mountain?"

"Princess Thenna. If I wanted you to call me by my first name only I would have introduced myself that way."

Obi-Wan looked at the princess thoughtfully. She was too big to carry. "You're going to have to repel down the mountain, Princess Thenna."

She smiled at him. "You can call me Thenna. What's you're name?"

"Obi-Wan."

"Well, Obi-Wan, I don't mean to be a problem, but I don't know how to repel down a mountain. Couldn't you carry me?" She asked sweetly.

Meleana rolled her eyes and rummaged through her pack for bacta patches. She was too tired to deal with a spoiled princess. She hadn't been in the best shape when they started the mission, having just recovered from massive injuries. The small injuries she'd incurred over the last few days were beginning to take there toll on her.

Obi-Wan began to explain the process to Thenna, trying to calm her down. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it. It's not too difficult. There will be a rope around your waist so you can't fall."

Meleana got back to her feet after she'd applied the bacta patches. "We can talk about this while we walk. I don't think anyone will be following us, but incase they do we should at least get a head start."

"I'm not dressed for this weather," The princess said. She was wearing a long sleeved dress and small heeled shoes.

Obi-Wan took off his jacket and handed it to the girl.

"Thank you," she said batting her eyelashes at him.

Meleana started walking and assumed the other two would follow. The sooner they got to the south side of the mountain the sooner she could sleep and if she could get enough distance between herself and the others she wouldn't have to listen to the princess's whining.

They reached the south side in twice the time it had taken them to get to the fortress. The princess had insisted on resting at least once every hour. The sun had already gone down by the time they finally stopped for the night.

"I want a fire." The princess said before she sat down. She could tell the Jedi had no intention of gathering fire wood. "I'm cold, and I don't like the dark."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "I'll go get some wood."

The princess watched Obi-Wan lay out the bedrolls. "There are only two?" Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, you could sleep with me and keep me warm."

Obi-Wan bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I think it would be best for you to sleep by yourself."

Thenna wasn't used to not getting her way. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"On the floor," he looked out into the woods for Meleana.

She followed his eyes to the forest. "Do you like her?"

He shrugged. "Well enough," he pulled two ration packs out and handed one to her.

"More than me?" She asked taking the ration pack.

"Well I've known her longer."

"Do you think she's pretty?"

Obi-wan furrowed his brow, not sure what that had to do with anything. "Objectively, sure."

The princess took one bite of her ration pack and spit it out. "This is disgusting," she dropped it on the floor. "I want something else."

"There isn't anything else," Obi-Wan said finishing his. "They aren't so bad once you get used to them."

"Well I'm not eating that and I'm not going hungry either."

"Then you'll have to catch something yourself." Obi-Wan tried to be as understanding as possible, but the princess's attitude was wearing on him.

Meleana came back to the camp with an armful of wood. "What's wrong now?" She asked seeing the princess's face.

"She doesn't like the food."

Meleana cleared a spot in the snow for the camp fire. "That makes two of us."

"Go find something else for me to eat," The princess demanded.

Meleana turned around and laughed. "Does your father educate you?"

"Of course."

"Well you should have your instructors teach you some manners."

Thenna was more offended than she'd ever been. At first she was at a loss for words. Had Meleana been closer to her she would have slapped her. "I will not be spoken to this way!" she shouted.

"Too late it already happened." Meleana piled the wood and lit the fire.

"The same could be said to you! At least I know how to dress and behave like a proper lady!"

Meleana rolled her eyes. "Please don't get me started."

"It takes weeks for her to stop," Obi-Wan added.

Meleana sat down on her bedroll and grabbed a ration pack. "You have a fire. Why don't you show us how a proper lady kills and skins a critter?"

"Meleana stop." Obi-Wan said.

"It was just a suggestion," Meleana defended with her mouth full.

Thenna started to cry hysterically. "This isn't fair! I'm hungry and I'm cold and you're supposed to be my rescue team! You won't get whatever reward my father promised you when he hears about how poorly you've treated me."

Meleana and Obi-Wan looked at each other.

"I'm a vegetarian," Meleana said. "I'm not running into the woods to kill some sweet little woodland creature to feed that twit."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I'll do it, but I want the bed."

"I'm not sleeping in the snow. Let her do it, it'll build character."

"Fine we'll share it."

"Fine." Meleana said with a huff.

"I already offered to share with you," The princess chimed in.

Meleana gave the girl a bewildered look. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"And on what planet is it appropriate for a grown man to sleep with a sixteen year old?" Meleana shook her head. "Never mind you're probably sold off and pregnant by eighteen." Meleana's big purple eyes nearly bugged out of her head at the lack of a reaction her comment had gotten. "We need to get back to the Republic," she groaned.

Obi-Wan walked out of the camp, quietly hoping the girls wouldn't kill each other while he was gone.

"Is your behavior acceptable where you're from?" Thenna asked.

"For the most part."

"Well you're obviously ill bred and uneducated. I assume they must find some use for you." Thenna said in an elitist tone.

Meleana laughed. "I'm a princess from a Republic world. I've been educated at the Jedi temple in the center of the galaxy since I was three. You don't get much better than that. I just happen to have a harsh personality and a lack of patients when dealing with spoiled royalty."

Thenna sniffled. "I don't see why you have to be so mean."

"Please, you probably talk to people like this all the time. I'm just the first person to give it back to you. Maybe you should remember how it feels next time you scold a servant for preparing your dinner wrong." Meleana stretched out on her bedroll.

"Their job is to serve me. Without me they would be starving in the streets."

"No, without you they would be working somewhere else. Get over yourself."

"No you get over yourself you stupid old hag!"

Meleana laughed. "You're jealous of me?"

Thenna crossed her arms stubbornly. "No, you're fat and old and ugly."

Meleana pulled up her shirt and looked at her toned stomach. "Whatever you say."

"Are you two behaving yourselves?" Obi-Wan asked walking back into camp with a small dead creature.

"I'm fat old and ugly," Meleana said looking up at him. "Oh you killed something cute!" She squealed.

He gave her a look. "I couldn't find anything ugly."

"Is that in response to my first comment or my second?"

"Second."

Meleana gave him a sad face. "But I need someone to stroke my fragile little ego," she said in a baby voice.

"You've lost it."

Meleana winced. "Ouch. On that note, I'm going to sleep. I don't want to watch you skin that thing. Just crawl in whenever you're ready."

"Ready for what?" he said with a grin.

"A hot night of sleep. Raunchy fully clothed sleep. I'm getting all bothered just thinking about it." She crawled inside of her bedroll and curled up in the far corner. "Oh yeah close those eyes baby."

"This is getting strange now."

"Oh that snoring is _so _good," she moaned out.

"Good night Meleana," Obi-Wan said hoping she'd stop.

"Very good."

Thenna was unable to sleep in the woods. Every time she had nearly fallen asleep there was a sound in the woods to wake her. She looked over at the sleeping Jedi. Meleana and Obi-Wan both had their arms wrapped around each other. She didn't like that. Meleana had offended her, and no one ever offended her without facing some kind of punishment. Further, she had embarrassed her in front of Obi-Wan.

Thenna crawled quietly out of her bedroll and crept over to Meleana's pack. She found her rope and a knife inside the pack and cut the rope down, not enough that anyone would see, but enough that it would ware out and snap on the way down. She quickly stuffed everything back into the pack and got back into her bedroll.

Meleana woke up several hours later. It took her a minute to realize her limbs were tangled around Obi-Wan. She moved her arm and leg off of him and pulled his arms off of her. He moaned softly as he woke up.

"You were cuddling me." Meleana said setting his arm down on his stomach.

"Sorry," he said with a yawn. "You were warm."

Meleana slid out of the bedroll. "I can't wait to get down this mountain."

"I can't wait to get off of this planet."

"Agreed," Meleana tossed him a ration pack. "I have to say though I am not looking forward to the lecture we'll be getting from the council."

"I'll miss having breakfast thrown at me every morning."

"I've got to admit, you've grown on me, like an itchy unwanted fungus."

"The feeling is mutual."

Meleana gently kicked the princess's bedroll. "You awake princess?"

"Yes," she grumbled.

Meleana looked over the edge of the cliff. "This is going to be fun!"

Obi-Wan arched a brow at her. "You're kidding right?" he said throwing his pack on.

"Of course I'm kidding. I hate mountains. I'm just in a better mood now that we're on the way down."

Meleana made sure her rope was secure and started down the cliff bouncing of the wall quickly.

"See it's not hard," Obi-Wan secured both of their ropes. "I'll go down a few feet before you, just hold the rope and push off with your feet." He lowered himself down and repelled of the side once. "See?"

"I think so," Thenna swallowed hard and slowly lowered herself down.

Meleana got quite a bit farther than them. She'd rather wait at the next landing than hang by a rope to keep pace with the princess. She was moving fast, knowing that every jump was one step closer to her ship. She pushed off the rocks hard and fell several meters quickly. The sound of her rope snapping couldn't be heard as far down as she was, it was near the end of its length and her last jump had pulled it taught. She realized she was in trouble when the rope went completely slack. Her feet hit the rocks at the same time. She reached up trying to grab hold of something. She fell several meters before catching herself on a large rock. She yelped in pain as her arms stopped her, one of her shoulders made an audible popping sound and it snapped out of place.

Obi-Wan moved quickly to get to her, his rope stopped a few meters short of her. He found something to secure himself to and shook the rope lose.

Meleana let the arm with the dislocated shoulder drop, unable to take the pain of her weight on it anymore. She looked down the mountain; there wasn't a landing in sight. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain in both of her arms.

Obi-Wan secured his rope and dropped down to Meleana. He held his rope tightly with one hand and secured his feet in the mountain side before grabbing her and pulling her into his chest. "Stop falling," he said in an insistent tone. "It's starting to hurt me just to watch."

Meleana wrapped her good arm around him. "Don't remind me. Can you fix my arm?"

Obi-Wan looked at her then at the rope in his hand. "Wrap your legs around me and hold on to the rope."

Meleana wrapped her legs tightly around his torso and coiled the rope around her wrist before gripping it tightly. He hugged one arm around her and snapped her shoulder into place with the other. She let out a short scream as he did.

"Thank you," she said through gritted teeth.

Obi-Wan looked up at the princess. She was still a few meters behind them. "Let's get to a landing."

He repelled down as quickly as he could with the added weight. They needed to get somewhere they could stand so Meleana could get her cable launcher off her belt. With only one good arm it didn't make sense for her to try to grab it mid air.

They reached a small ledge on the mountain and Obi-Wan set her down. "Did you hurt anything else?"

Meleana shook her head. "Just my ego." She pulled the rope, still wrapped around her waist, until she reached the end and inspected it. "She cut my rope." Meleana held it up for him to see.

Obi-Wan frowned. "We'll have to watch her more closely."

Meleana sat down on the narrow ledge. "I'm sick of being in pain."

"Can you keep going?"

"Yeah, I'll just be a little slower." She rotated her injured shoulder and winced. "I can't believe that little brat."

"Confronting her won't do any good. We'll just keep and eye on her."

That night, when they had found an adequate place to rest Meleana stuffed her utility belt, along with her cable launcher, into her bedroll.

"How is it you didn't fall all the way down?" Thenna asked, trying to sound casual.

"I'm a Jedi," Meleana said. "It takes more than a faulty rope to kill us."

"That's fortunate," Thenna did her best to sound sincere.

Meleana climbed under the covers. "Isn't it?" She looked at Obi-Wan, who seemed to be preparing to sleep on the floor. "Obi, you carried me down a mountain, do you really think I'm going to let you sleep on the floor?" She moved over to the edge of the bedroll. "You can even cuddle me."

"I didn't intentionally cuddle you," he said crawling in next to her.

"I'm just saying."

Meleana woke up first, as always, the next morning. She felt heavier than usual. She looked down to find Obi-Wan coiled around her. "Obi-Wan," she said loud enough to wake him up.

He moaned sleepily. "What?"

"You've pinned me down."

"Oh," he moved off of her and yawned. "Sorry."

"Its fine," she got out of bed and grabbed two ration packs, tossing one to him. "How long do you think this will take?"

"We're getting down much faster than we got up, another day, maybe a day and a half. Assuming everything else goes smoothly."

"It will take us at least a day to get the ship working. We have to do some patch work on the hull. The cabin will need to be sealed off. There's no way we'll be able to fix that hole."

"I'll fix the hull," he volunteered. "It won't take us more than a day if we work together."

The rest of the trip down the mountain was uneventful. They pushed on into the night to get to the base of the mountain without having to stop again.

It was late at night when they finally arrived back in the village. Within minutes of their arrival lights were going on all over the town as the few people who were still awake shouted to announce the arrival of the princess.

Meleana and Obi-Wan met with the king once more to discuss their reward. The king sat down in his throne after greeting his daughter and sending her off with her handmaidens to get cleaned up.

"Thank you for returning my daughter to me. Please spend the night here. In the morning we'll take care of getting everything you need."

Meleana and Obi-Wan looked at each other.

"Warm bed," Meleana said.

"Warm bath," he added, he looked at the king. "Will there be breakfast?"

"A hero's feast, of course."

"Then we would be delighted to accept your hospitality." Meleana said, even she was excited about real food.

"There is one other thing, perhaps not something the lady should here."

"The ladies heard it all," Meleana said wondering why they weren't in nice soft beds yet.

The king was a bit taken aback. "Alright… my daughter expressed some interest in you," he said to Obi-Wan. "It would be best to give her what she wants, if you know what I mean."

Meleana looked at the somewhat terrified look on Obi-Wan's face. "He can't do that… What kind of woman would I be if I let my husband sleep around with every girl who caught his eye?" Meleana tried not to wretch at her own words.

The king looked at her with some surprise. "I apologize. I thought before you had said you were, mission partners was it?"

"Yes that's what we call ourselves. Husband and wife seems so everyday," Meleana went on. "But life is our mission and we are partners in it till the end."

"Oh… I see… Well Thenna will be disappointed. You wouldn't allow her just to borrow him."

Meleana hooked her arm around Obi-Wan. "Absolutely not. If you just want to use my life partner for his body then I think we should be going."

"No, please stay and enjoy the evening. I apologize if I have offended you."

"Then show us to our rooms," Meleana said in a commanding tone.

"You sleep in separate rooms?" The king asked.

"No," Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around Meleana's waist. "We're just used to suites. Many adjoined rooms with one bed in which we sleep happily together every night."

"That's right," Meleana smiled. "But one room is fine if it has a bed!"

The king waved one of his servants forward. "Put them in one of the rooms with the adjoining washroom and see to it they are woken for breakfast. Bring them some fresh clothing as well."

Meleana and Obi-Wan both bowed to the king before following the servant.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to say mission partner again with a straight face." Obi-Wan said when they were alone in their room.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so frightened before."

"Thank you for talking our way out of that."

Meleana took off her dirty torn jacket and found her dirty clothes in her pack. "I get the first bath." She kicked off her mud caked boots and scurried into the washroom.

Obi-Wan sat down on the bed and pulled off his equally filthy shoes. There was a knock on the door a few minutes later. He opened the door. There was a servant with a bundle of clothes.

"Thank you," he said taking the clothing from him. He set the clothing down on the bed and lay across it with his legs hanging off. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until Meleana came in and woke him up.

"Oh force are these my clothes?" Meleana asked looking at the conservative black dress on the bed.

"I don't think they're mine," Obi-Wan said turning his head to look at her. She was wrapped in a white towel.

"I'm glad I washed these," she caught Obi-Wan staring at her. "I'm not dropping the towel."

"What?"

"I assume that's what you're waiting for."

He furrowed his brow. "No. I'm just half asleep."

"Well it's your turn in the tub," she picked up a pair of small black leggings and a small long sleeved black turtle neck and frowned. "Is this supposed to be underwear?"

Obi-Wan sat up and looked at the garments. "I haven't seen any women walking around dressed like that, and they definitely won't fit me."

Meleana scrunched her nose as she picked up the clothing. She held it to her chest and watched Obi-Wan, waiting for him to leave. "Are you going?"

He grabbed his pants from the pile and walked into the bathroom.

Meleana opened the swinging window in the room and draped her wet clothing over it. She changed into the leggings and turtleneck and climbed into bed.

_Meleana was standing on top of a grassy plateau She could hear the waves smashing against the rocks bellow her. There was a middle aged man bleeding on the floor a few meters from her. It was her Master. She wanted to go to him but was held in place by some invisible force. A pair of ice cold hands wrapped firmly around her throat sending chills through her body._

"_I'm coming for you." A male voice said harshly into her ear._

Meleana sat up in bed her hand reached for her throat, it felt eerily cold. She must have screamed in her sleep because Obi-Wan was propped up on his elbows staring at her inquisitively.

Meleana looked away from him out the window she stood up and moved her clothes from the ledge before latching it shut.

"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan finally asked. It seemed to be something he asked her a lot.

"I'm fine." She got back into bed and turned her back to him. "Sorry I woke you."

A servant came by in the mid morning to wake them. Obi-Wan woke up first and dismissed the servant. He looked back at the bed where Meleana was still sleeping. "Its time for breakfast," he called out loudly. He sat down on the bed next to her when she didn't respond. "Meleana," he said shaking her gently. She moaned and swatted his hand away. He tapped her cheek gently. "Wake up."

Meleana's eyes opened, but she didn't seem to be awake. It seemed odd to Obi-Wan that she was sleeping so soundly since she was usually up with the sun. She took a deep breath and blinked her eyes.

"What?" She asked him with a yawn.

"You're a very sound sleeper." he said getting up. "Get dressed so we can eat and get out of here."

"I am not a sound sleeper." she said defensively.

"Well you were this morning." He pulled his shirt on. "Hurry up."

Meleana tossed her legs out of bed and her body followed. She got to her feet and stumbled towards the pile of clothes she'd thrown on the floor the night before. "Damn it," she said feeling how wet they were. She glared at the dress on the floor then grudgingly picked it up.

"You're going to wear that?" Obi-Wan said with some amusement.

"Looks like it," she took the dress into the bathroom and squeezed herself into it. The long sleeves and high neck were too tight and constricting. The tight floor length pencil skirt was even worse. It was as if the dress had been designed to constrict movement. She toddled out of the bathroom. "Get me a knife," she said, ignoring the amused look on Obi-Wan's face.

"Get it yourself." He tried not to laugh at her.

"I can't bend over."

He grabbed the knife out of his pack and handed it to Meleana. "Try not to hurt yourself."

"Just wearing this hurts." She pulled the neck of the shirt out as far as it would go and slid the knife in with the sharp side facing away from her. She punctured a hole in the top and tore the rest with her hands. She breathed a sigh of relief once her neck and lungs were free of the constricting garment. She punctured both of the sleeves and tore them off then moved to the skirt. She pulled it up as far as she could and slashed it along the side up to her mid thigh.

"I hope they weren't planning on getting that back." Obi-Wan said looking at the torn dress.

"Why would women willingly walk around without the ability to breathe?" She asked handing him the knife. "Maybe I'll start a trend."

Meleana caught a glare from both the princess and the queen as they walked into the dinning hall. Clearly they didn't appreciate her modifications to their traditional dress. The princess whispered something to her mother as they sat down at the table.

"Good morning," The king said ignoring his wife and daughter.

"Good morning," Obi-Wan said smiling politely at them.

A server droid entered the room and set down a plate of food and a drink in front of each of them.

"I've arranged to have a servant bring you to the store room when breakfast is done. Feel free to take whatever parts you need."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. He looked over at Meleana wondering why she was being so quiet.

Meleana rubbed her temple in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing pain in her head. Her headache had started as soon as she'd woken up and had only gotten worse as the day progressed. She took a few bites of the food in front of her to humor herself. Last night breakfast was all she could think of, now she had hardly any appetite. Her head started spinning and she put down her fork fearing she'd end up regretting anything else she ate.

"Would it be possible for me to go look at the store room now?" Meleana asked abruptly. "The food is wonderful. I'm just not feeling very well." She added not wanting to offend the king.

"Of course," The king waved a servant forwards. "Take her to the mechanical store room."

The servant nodded and walked over to Meleana offering her a hand.

Ordinarily Meleana wouldn't have taken it, but given the sudden onset of dizziness she was happy for the help.

"I'll meet you at the speeder," Meleana said to Obi-Wan on her way out.

Meleana was sleeping in the passenger chair when Obi-Wan reached the speeder. She must have moved quickly because he hadn't taken much time to eat and say his goodbyes. He dropped the packs on top of the mess of parts in the back seat and slid into the driver's chair.


	5. Chapter 5

-5-

He looked over at Meleana as they approached the jungle canopy. She had slept through the entire drive. Something seemed off about her, the color had drained from her face and her sleep seemed to be an uneasy one. Jedi didn't often get sick, though Meleana had certainly been through enough in the past week to weaken her defenses. He reached his hand forward to check her temperature. The second he touched her she jumped back. He moved away expecting her to snap at him. He was surprised to find she was still sound asleep.

Meleana woke in a strange place. It was dark and full of unfamiliar unfriendly sounds. She looked around, she was in a speeder. Obi-Wan was sleeping in the drivers seat. Her memory returned to her and it dawned on her that they were deep in the jungle again. She rubbed her eyes wondering how long she had slept. Her head was still throbbing. She heard what sounded like a voice coming from the trees and decided she had officially lost her mind.

"This is all in my head," she said out loud as the voice became clearer. It was calling her name beckoning her to leave the relative safety of her speeder.

"Meleana."

This time the voice was directly behind her. Before she could turn to move cold hands gripped her shoulders firmly.

Obi-Wan nearly jumped out of his seat when Meleana woke up screaming. "That's a little jarring." he said looking over at her.

Meleana was looking around the jungle wide eyed. "Wasn't it night time?"

"It was, now it's day time," he looked over at her troubled expression. "I can see why you'd be confused seeing this is the first time you've said a word to me since breakfast three days ago."

"Where are we?" she asked trying to calm herself.

Obi-Wan waited until they reached the jungle clearing with the ship rather than answer her. "Conveniently you slept through the entire journey."

Meleana shook her head in disbelief and reached for the ships remote control on her belt. She opened the hanger and Obi-Wan drove the speeder inside.

"Sorry," she said getting out of the speeder. "I don't know what's wrong with me." She looked at the pile of parts. "Can you handle repairs on the hull while I work on the controls?"

He nodded. "If you think you can stay up that long."

"I already apologized, what else do you want me to say?" Meleana picked a crate full of parts up out of the speeder.

"I was only kidding."

"Let's just get this done." she said harshly

Meleana had been working for several hours when she blacked out. She woke up on the control room floor with a handful of wires in her hand. She sat up and looked at the control panel; apparently she'd finished repairing it. Outside the sun was just beginning to go down. She got to her feet slowly and headed into the kitchen. She was starved.

Meleana opened the cooling unit and peered inside. As soon as she opened it a horrible smell filled the kitchen. Everything had spoiled. She frowned and grabbed a few ration packs and water bottles from the pantry. Her headache had finally passed and her mind was finally clear.

She brought the ration packs and water outside hoping snacks would smooth things over with Obi-Wan. She felt bad for snapping at him earlier. She followed the sound of hammering around the ship.

Obi-Wan was hammering the torn hull of the ship back into place. He'd been working outside in the jungle for hours. He was hot, sweaty and dirty. He turned to see Meleana standing a few meters away watching him with a look he'd never seen from her before. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly when he realized she was checking him out.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked letting the hammer swing to his side.

"Huh?" Meleana asked in a dreamy tone. There was something about men with tools she found irresistible. It dawned on her that she was staring at him with a stupid smile on her face and she quickly composed herself. "I brought you some water."

He took the bottle of water from her. "Can I have one of those as well?" He asked motioning towards the stack of ration packs in her hand.

She nodded absently and held them out towards him. So much for being clear headed. "Do you need any help?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm nearly done."

"Ok," her mind started to wander to places it shouldn't be. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Are you going to eat those in the shower?" He was referring to the rest of her handful of ration packs.

"No." She handed him the rest.

Obi-Wan smirked as she walked away. He should try holding a hammer whenever she was around; it seemed to make her much more agreeable.

Obi-Wan was waiting for her in the main room when she came out of the shower. "The cabin will need to be sealed off." he said as she took a seat at the booth across from him. "I don't have anything left to fix the hull."

"Everything else is good?" she asked with a stretch.

"I triple checked."

Meleana smiled, they were finally getting off this rock. "I'll seal off the cabin and take off."

"And what am I going to do?"

"You've got the hard job. Try to cook something edible out of the dried and canned foods in the pantry."

"I don't think this is a fair deal. I seem to be doing a lot more work."

Meleana raised her brow. "Alright, I'll set the table too," she got to her feet. "You'd better get to work."

Meleana walked into the kitchen after taking off. Whatever Obi-Wan was cooking smelled good. "What are you making?" she asked squeezing past him to grab a bottle of wine from one of the upper cabinets.

"Canned vegetables and dried starches."

Meleana looked into the pan. "You might want to think up a new name. You're not making it sound terribly appetizing."

He opened the drawer next to the stove and pulled out a spoon. "It doesn't matter what it's called, all that matters is how it tastes." He scooped some food out of the pan and held the spoon in front of Meleana's mouth.

She blew on it to cool it before taking a small bite. "It's edible. It would be good if it had a catchy name."

"Shouldn't you be setting the table?"

Meleana grabbed two plates out of the cabinet. "Does that mean dinner is ready?"

"Yes it does."

She stacked silverware on top of the plates and grabbed the bottle of wine. "Can you bring in some glasses?"

"Yep."

He grabbed the glasses and the pan and followed her into the main room. He set them down on the table and sat down. "So what do you eat when I'm not around? You can't cook, you hate ration packs."

Meleana frowned. "I don't know."

He laughed. "You don't know what you eat?"

"No. My Master always cooked for me when I wasn't at the temple. I guess I'll have to eat my own cooking."

"Poor girl." He plated some food and set it down in front of her. "If we had any real food I'd give you some lessons."

Meleana poured them both a glass of wine. "I think my cooking is a lost cause. You wouldn't be the first person to try to improve my cooking skills." She started shoveling food into her mouth. She couldn't remember ever being as hungry as she was. "I guess I'll just eat fruit and vegetables." She gulped down her wine. "So I guess we'll be sleeping together again tonight."

"I can sleep on the floor."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "My beds big enough for both of us. After sharing a bedroll it would be silly of me to make a fuss about sleeping in the same bed."

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"I'm sure after spending all day working in the heat you're just dying to curl up on the floor and go to sleep."

"Either way, are we going to Ithor or Coruscant?"

"Ithor, I couldn't get the communication system back on, so I figured it would be best to at least stop off at our scheduled destination before we went home."

Obi-Wan finished eating. "I doubt there will be anything for us to do there."

"Better to stop and check than give the council one more reason to lecture us."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement and finished his wine. "I'm sorry to leave in the middle of dinner, but my back is killing me. I need to go take a hot shower."

"That's fine. I need to practice eating by myself anyway."

"Try not to choke on anything." he said getting out of the booth. "I'm not going to run out of the shower to save you."

"I'll do my best."

Meleana finished eating and changed into her night gown. She sat down in the center of her bed to meditate.

"I've never actually been in your bedroom." Obi-Wan said breaking her concentration.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him. He'd changed into a pair of sleep-pants. "Pretty impressive huh? I've got a bed a dresser and _two _nightstands."

"The second nightstand really takes it to the next level."

"How's your back?" She asked sliding over in bed to make room for him to sit down.

"A little better."

"I'll make you a deal, I'll massage your back if you do mine."

He looked thoughtful. "How do I know if that's a fair deal? What if your massages are inferior to mine?"

"What if it's the other way around?"

"I've never had any complaints," he said with a casual shrugs.

"I've never had anything but compliments," she said unable to resist the urge to one-up him. She patted the bed in front of her. "Just sit down."

"If I sit down now then you'll have the last word."

"If you don't sit down now I'm taking the deal off the table."

"Fine," he sat down in front of her. "But if you're terrible you'll hear about it."

"Oh I'm terrified." she said in a mocking tone. She slid closer to him and started rubbing his shoulders. "Where does it hurt?"

"If you're so good you should be able to figure it out."

Meleana ran the ball of her hand down his back in small circles. She stopped when she hit his lower back and he moaned. "That it?"

"Yes," she pushed down harder on his muscles making him moan out his words.

She smiled. "Clearly I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I've had-" Meleana pressed into his muscle with her thumb. "Uh- better."

Meleana laughed. "I can tell you're not enjoying this at all."

"Why is everything a competition with you?" He tried to keep his voice as level as possible.

"Why don't you ever admit defeat?" She found another knot in his back and slid her hand over it slowly increasing the pressure she was putting on him.

"I can't admit defeat until I've been defeated."

They stopped arguing allowing Obi-Wan to enjoy his massage. He was so relaxed he'd nearly fallen asleep when Meleana's hands left him.

"My turn," she turned her back to him and he turned around to face her.

"I'd like to start by pointing out that I am at a disadvantage. You're wearing clothing."

Meleana snickered. "So you usually only massage naked people?"

He blushed. "I meant that I am not wearing a shirt and you are. In this competition that is a disadvantage."

Meleana pulled the thin straps of her nightgown down her shoulders and let the dress slide down to her waist. She turned her head to look at him. "What are you waiting for? I removed your handicap. Just keep your hands on my front."

"Where do you want me to start?" He asked. He hadn't expected her to actually remove her clothing.

"Start at the top and work your way down." His hands began working her shoulders. "How do we decide the winner? By number of moans?"

"I didn't count mine," Obi-Wan said as he gradually increased the pressure on her tight shoulders.

"Well if there isn't a clear winner we'll need to think of a tie breaker."

Obi-Wan hit the spot between her shoulder and her neck and Meleana moaned. "What did you have in mind?"

"Mmm- how about a- uh- pillow fight."

"I've never seen anyone win a pillow fight."

"You don't win, you just aren't defeated. At some point someone can't take any more and..." She let out a long airy moan.

"I don't think we'll need a tie breaker."

"If I lose- uh- I'm going to hit you in the face with a pillow anyway."

"Well then you should enjoy your massage while it lasts because you're about to be beaten at pillow fighting."

Meleana felt quiet blissful when Obi-Wan had finished. "I still think mine was better."

"If by mine you mean the one I gave you than I agree." Obi-Wan already had a pillow in his lap at the ready.

Meleana pulled her nightgown up. "Isn't there a diplomatic way we could agree that I'm the winner? Haven't we seen enough violence?" She started moving towards a pillow while she was talking.

Obi-Wan slapped her in the side with his. "No, negotiations are over."

Meleana spun and smacked him in the side. "Have you had a lot of pillow fights?"

"Not that I can recall."

Meleana sat up on her knees. "Let me show you how you do it. There's a lot of technique involved. First you raise the pillow as high above you as you can." She brought the pillow up. "Then you do this," she slammed the pillow down once onto Obi-Wan's head and started smacking him with it from side to side.

He pulled his pillow up to block hers. She giggled as he tried to elbow her away. She slid on her knees out of range of his elbow and continued smacking him.

"Come on Kenobi you haven't hit me once."

He flung his pillow at her wildly from around hers whilst still trying to move closer to her. She squealed when he finally did hit her and repeatedly pounded the pillow into her shoulder. The pillow fight quickly degraded into wrestling with pillows. Meleana was practically on top of Obi-Wan at the edge of the bed. She hit him hard enough to knock him off. He wrapped an arm around her leg and pulled her down on top of him.

She landed straddling his hips. She looked down and smiled at him before smacking him in the face with her pillow. She tightened her legs around him to hold him in place and laughed as she beat him with the pillow. "Surrender!"

"No," he said through a fit of laughter. "I've lost my pillow." He grabbed hers. "I'll be needing this."

Meleana held onto it firmly. "I don't think so." She gripped the center of the pillow tightly.

Obi-Wan pulled his end of the pillow down to the floor along with Meleana. "Give me the pillow." he said with a boyish look. Their faces were almost close enough to touch.

Meleana pouted and bat her eyes. "Give me the pillow."

He gave her a puppy dog look. "I really need this pillow."

She ground her hips into him in tight circles. "Pillow?"

"Stop that," he said with a moan.

"Not until you give me what I want." she said in a sultry tone.

"What is it you want?" He asked in a low voice.

Meleana brushed her lips over his. "My pillow."

Obi-Wan let go of the pillow and kissed her. He ran the tip of his tongue over her closed lips and they parted. As the kiss went on their hands began exploring each others bodies. Obi-Wan moved his hand from her back down to her hips. She pushed her body more firmly into his and tossed the pillow out of the way. Obi-Wan's hand moved down to cup her ass. Meleana broke away from the kiss and sat up. She pulled her nightgown over her head exposing her large round chest. She kissed him again this time more passionately. She bit as his bottom lip then ran her tongue over it softly. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her soft breasts pressed firmly into his chest and sent a shiver down his spine. His hands tightened around her ass and pressed her hips firmly against his.

"That was amazing," she said in a sleepy voice.

He looked up at her with a smile in his eyes. "You are easily impressed."

Meleana's eye brows perked up and moved closer together. "What?"

He kissed her deeply. "Why don't we try again? I think I might have more staying power this time."

Meleana didn't go so far as to compliment him. The corners of her mouth turned upwards slightly.

He kissed her neck. "Is that a yes?" He rolled off of her onto his back.

She moved from her spot on the bed to straddle his thighs. She leaned forward to kiss him. "This doesn't change anything," she said softly.

He coiled his arms around her and sat up to press his body against hers. "Don't be so naïve." His mouth covered hers before she could talk back.

He doubted she'd ever done this with another Jedi. If she had she'd have realized it couldn't not change things. He wouldn't be able to look at her without thinking of her hips grinding into his, her beautiful chest heaving, and those incredible little sounds she was making.

Obi-Wan woke up with a yawn. He stretched and looked over at Meleana sleeping peacefully in bed next to him. He turned on his side to look at her.

She moaned softly and half opened her eyes. "What?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

He smiled. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a light sleeper," she stretched. "I felt you moving."

"That's a shame. You're very cute when you're sleeping."

Meleana put her hand in front of her face. "No I'm not. I get all puffy." She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket up to her neck. "I'm still sleepy."

"Go back to sleep."

"No," she said stubbornly. "I'm already awake." She opened one eye to look at him a minute later. "Don't stare at me," she didn't sound as serious as she meant to. Her voice was always sickeningly cute in the morning. For some reason she could never manage to sound like an adult when she woke up.

Obi-Wan smiled, she didn't sound terribly threatening. "I'm not staring."

She shut her eyes again. "Talk to me, keep me awake."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't care."

He ran his hands through her hair. "You've never slept with another Jedi before have you?"

"No," she opened her eyes to look into his. "You could tell?"

He smiled at the concerned look in her eyes. "Not because of anything you did. Just because of the things you said." He kissed her lips softly. "You were amazing." He ran the back of his hand down the curve of her cheek. "I think I like this side of you."

"The naked one?"

He laughed. "No, the vulnerable one."

"What's so vulnerable about me?" Her eyes were still closed.

"I'm touching you and you're not flinching. Your eyes are closed," he ran his hand down her body to her hips. "And your body is completely relaxed."

"I could still kick your ass," she said with a smile.

"I doubt it," he said with a chuckle. He dragged his lips over hers and kissed her. "I should get out of bed."

"But you're keeping me up."

He smiled. "That's the problem. You're keeping me up too."

Meleana opened her eyes. "Really?" she asked smiling. She reached her hand down to stroke him. "Does that help?"

He moaned. "Not really."

She slid closer to him on the bed. She grabbed his hand with her free one and placed it on her breast. "So you aren't enjoying this at all?" she whispered into his ear.

"Uh, I wouldn't say that," His eyes slid shut as her soft lips met his. "You're insatiable."

"So I've been told," she kissed the cleft of his chin. "Think you can keep up with me?"

"I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't try."

Meleana tossed the blanket to the edge of the bed and pushed Obi-Wan onto his back.

"If I didn't know you," Meleana said breathlessly. "I might actually like you now."

"And if it weren't for your personality, I think I'd be in love with you." He ran his hands over her sweat slicked body. "You are a very beautiful woman."

"I'm sure you've been with lots of beautiful women," she relaxed into his arms.

"I've had my fair share." He kissed her cheek. "That hasn't lessened my appreciation of the female form." He let her go to remove the cuffs from her hands and lay her down gently on the bed with him.

"What are we doing now?" she asked.

"Sleeping."


	6. Chapter 6

The next time Meleana woke she was alone in bed. She sat up and stretched with a yawn. She picked up her nightgown off the floor and slid it on before walking into the main room. She could hear Obi-Wan in the kitchen as she walked through the main room into the bathroom. She started the water in the shower and grabbed her tooth brush from the counter. Something in the mirror caught the corner of her eye. She looked up quickly, but there was nothing there. She started to brush her teeth and stuck her hand into the water to test the temperature. She leaned over the sink to rinse her mouth when she looked back up into the mirror behind the sink she saw a tall man with dark hair standing behind her. She gasped and spun around, but no one was there. She felt a cold hand grab the back of her neck and her entire body tensed. She rushed out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Obi-Wan looked up from his food at her. "Water too hot?"

"I was… I…. I…. just…. I… don't want the steam to get out while I get my clothes." She hurried into her bedroom and grabbed a few things from her closet not even checking to see what they were. She took a deep breath and walked back into the main room.

"You don't feel weird do you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Huh?" Meleana asked too wrapped up in her own mind to hear him.

"About last night?"

Meleana shook her head. "No not at all," _I'm just being mentally stalked by a mad man,_ she wanted to add.

"Are you sure?"

Meleana smiled and nodded, she felt like her heart was about to jump into her throat. "I'm fine." She mustered the courage to open the bathroom door again. She leaned up against the closed door and set her pile of clothes down on the vanity. She closed her eyes. "He's not real," she repeated over and over.

"He's not real," a deep male voice said in a mocking tone. "But I can still hurt you."

Meleana took a deep breath and opened her eyes. There was nothing but a steam filled room. She shut her eyes again and let out a sigh of relief. This time when she opened her eyes red liquid was spilling out of the shower head and over the edges of the tub. Her eyes drifted to the body floating in the blood filled tub. She shrieked at the top of her lungs seeing her Masters decomposed body floating there. She wanted to run but her feet felt frozen in place.

She heard a knock on the door and Obi-Wan's voice. "Are you alright?" she heard him say.

"No," she squeaked out.

He opened the door. He didn't expect to see her standing on the other side. "Meleana," he put a hand on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned towards him and collapsed into his arms sobbing. "What happened?" he asked trying to sound comforting rather than confused. He stroked her hair gently. She was sobbing and shaking in his arms, not a reaction he was used to seeing from a shower. He hugged her tightly. "Let's sit down." He walked with her into her bedroom and sat her down on the bed. He sat down next to her. "Take a deep breath."

She took a few sharp breaths before managing to take a long deep one. "I know this sounds like a really strange question," she said as calmly as she could. "But can you watch me shower?"

He tried not to show his confusion. "Sure." He grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and handed it to her. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Meleana shook her head. "No. I… I just don't want to be alone."

"Alright, come on." He led her back towards the bathroom. She stopped shy of the door.

"Does it look… normal?" She asked.

He looked inside. "Yes." He took her hand and brought her in with him. "See, just a normal room."

Meleana nodded. "I'm sorry. I know this is really _really_ odd."

"It's alright. Go ahead and shower. I'll be right here."

Meleana took off her nightgown and stepped into the shower hesitantly.

"I don't mean to sound self absorbed," Obi-Wan said sitting on the sink counter. "This isn't because of anything I did is it?"

"No," The warm water was relaxing despite her new found fear of showering. "It has nothing to do with you. I wish there were some way for me to explain things to you without sounding crazy."

"Meleana, don't take this the wrong way, but you already sound crazy."

Meleana looked over at him. His eyes were fixed on the wall in front of him. "Thank you for putting up with me. I know I can be difficult to deal with sometimes."

He smiled. "Not just sometimes."

Meleana turned off the water, she felt bad making him sit there and wait for her and she was still a little frazzled. "Can you hand me a towel?"

He handed her a towel without looking and heard her laugh at him.

"You know you have seen me naked. I'm not going to flip out if I catch you watching me in a shower I asked you to watch," she said wrapping the towel around herself. Meleana went to the vanity and grabbed her clothing. "I'd say you deserve a peek for putting up with my nonsense."

"It wouldn't be right for me to take advantage of you when you're in an emotional state."

Meleana smiled at him. "I'd almost feel better if you were taking advantage of me." She dropped her towel to put on her clothing and smiled as Obi-Wan averted his eyes.

He looked back at her when her when she was fully clothed. "I'll take advantage of you when you're feeling better."

"That's not really taking advantage of me then is it?" She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Meleana sighed. "Maybe," she said honestly not sure she could get through the story. She walked back into the main room and saw Obi-Wan's breakfast sitting on the table. "I guess I ruined your breakfast."

"Don't worry about it. Its still better than a ration pack."

Meleana picked up his plate. "I'll heat it up for you." She took the plate into the kitchen and stuck it into the oven. She opened one of the top cabinets and pulled out the first bottle she could find. She poured it into a dark colored glass and took a sip. She waited a minute for his food to heat. She grabbed a towel and brought it back into him.

She set his plate down in front of him and sat down across from him. She took a few more sips from her glass as Obi-Wan ate.

"Bounty hunters have been after me since I was a teenager," she said out of no where. "It started a couple of years after I started going on missions. Not because of anything I did. Just because of who I am- who I was before I was a Jedi. Most of them were easy enough to get rid of," she paused and took a deep breath. "There was one though, he started tracking me when I seventeen. He was different. He had force powers I've never seen before. We ran into him a few times, but always managed to lose him. He went away for a while, a couple of years." She took a gulp of her drink. "The last mission I went on with my Master was to my home planet." She swallowed hard. "I guess that raised a red flag for someone. He came back, with help this time." Her eyes started to well up with tears she bit down hard on the inside of her cheeks in an attempt to control her emotions then took a deep breath and continued.

"It was my birthday, and the mission was finished," Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She'd been through all of the events in her mind over and over again, all it had left her with was more guilt.

"We should have just left." She wiped the tears from her eyes and sighed. "He brought me to this beautiful cliff right next to the ocean. It was sunset and there was an amazing view of the capitol city." she took a long pause and resisted the urge to vomit. "He asked me if I wanted to spend my birthday in hyperspace."

"It wasn't your fault," Obi-Wan said.

"Please don't say that," she said softly. She finished off her glass. "The bounty hunter found us. It was a long fight. I got hurt and tired and sloppy. There were four of them, two of them were force sensitive. The other two were just a distraction. They were well coordinated." Meleana rubbed her eyes. "I don't really know what happened. I was blocking a vibroblade. I was right on the edge of the cliff. Ari," Meleana said her Master's name for the first time since his death. "He shouted at me, then he slammed into me. I fell off the cliff… he started screaming. He sounded like he was in so much pain," Meleana completely lost her composure and buried her face into her hands to hide her tears. She slowly composed herself enough to keep talking. She rested her head on her hand and stared down at the table. "I hit the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. I lay there waiting to die for a full day before someone finally found me. I don't know why I didn't. I don't know why they didn't come down and finish me off." She sighed sadly. "Anyway, there is a point to this story… Since then I've been seeing the bounty hunter. Not just thinking someone who looks like him might be him. I mean seeing him… seeing things that can't be real, but they seem so real. It's been getting worse. That's what happened in the shower. It's why I can never sleep. And the worst part is I got rewarded for being a screw up. I got my Master killed and they knighted me for it. Then they send me on a mission with you, and you hate me. You think I'm incompetent and obviously don't think I should be a Jedi Knight, Which really doesn't help, because I have plenty of my own self loathing. I don't need any help from you."

He moved to sit down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I will admit that I don't approve of some of your methods, but I don't hate you. I don't think you're incompetent. I may be a little jealous that you were knighted four years younger than I was, which you are misinterpreting as my thinking you shouldn't be a Jedi Knight." He ran his hand through her soft brown hair. "You're impulsive and emotional, but you're a good person and a good Jedi. As you get older and more experienced I'm sure you'll be an amazing Jedi."

Meleana looked up at him. "That was just insulting enough to be true."

"I didn't mean to be insulting."

"I know. I just couldn't think of a better word." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me. I've never said any of that stuff out loud before. I wrote it all down for the council."

"Did it help?" He asked.

"No, but do you still think I'm crazy?"

"Yes, but only because of the handcuffs."

Meleana almost smiled. "You liked it."

He smiled. "Yes I did."

Their moment of bonding ended when the ship dropped out of hyperspace far too early for them to be on Ithor.

"I thought you said you fixed it?" Obi-Wan took great pains to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"I did fix it."

Obi-Wan got out of the booth and walked into the control room. He didn't want to argue with her. He looked at the monitor, according to the ship they were on Ithor. According to the view outside they were nowhere. He opened the control panel and his mouth dropped at the sight of the tangled mess of wires. "What the hell did you do?" He asked when Meleana walked in.

Meleana looked at the mess of wires. "I didn't do that."

"Well I didn't do it! There were only two of us fixing the ship."

"I know how to repair a ship alright! I didn't do that!"

Before Obi-Wan had a chance to respond the ship jerked backward. "When you were repairing the ship did anything unusual happen."

Meleana paused. "Well… I sort of blacked out."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and tried very hard not to get upset with her. "And you didn't think to check what you'd done?"

"No." Meleana wanted to pull her hair out. "We're in a tractor beam aren't we?"

"Probably."

"And no one is out to get you are they?"

"Not that I am aware of."

Meleana buried her face in her hands. "Oh this is terrible."

"Calm down."

"Would now be a really bad time for me to tell you I'm a little drunk?"

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Let's just not speak."

Meleana nodded. "That sounds fair."

The ship stopped moving once they were inside a docking bay. A small hissing sound was barely audible over the mechanical whir from the docking bay.

"What's that sound?" Meleana said seconds before dropping to the floor.

"Oh…" Obi-Wan followed moments later.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes. He didn't know where he was. He tried to think of how he'd gotten there, but couldn't manage to remember anything. His head was so muddled he couldn't complete a thought.

"You're awake," a female voice said. A tall gaunt woman appeared in his blurry vision. She had long black hair and frighteningly bright green eyes. She placed a thin finger on his lips when he tried to speak. "Don't try to talk." There was a loud beeping sound and she walked out of sight.

He tried to sit up but found himself unable to move.

"Do you have her?" A male voice asked.

"Yes, I've got both of the Jedi. Do you need the other one?"

"No, I want her alive. Kill him before he causes any trouble."

"Why not kill both of them? The bounty says dead or alive."

"I don't want the bounty, just the girl."

"Then I take it you'll be reimbursing me for the huge amount of credits I've poured into catching these two?" The female asked sounding very unhappy.

"What wonderful sisterly love. Can't you just consider it a gift?"

"Ugh… fine, but I'm selling the male. I'm sure someone's stupid enough to buy an attractive young Jedi. You wouldn't be interested in a pair would you?"

"I'll be there in a few days. I suggest you not take the Jedi lightly."

The woman walked back over to Obi-Wan. "You're not going to hurt me are you?" She slapped him lightly on the cheek. "If you're good I might ease up on some of your drugs. At least enough that I can test my merchandise. How will I know how much you're worth without a test run?"

Obi-Wan couldn't think. All he could manage was "bad".

_Meleana found herself in a lavish room unsure of how she'd gotten there. The bed she was laying on was soft and covered in black silk. The room was decorated with deep colors and well furnished. She got out of bed and looked at the short lace nightgown she was wearing. She opened the nearest door and found nothing on the other side._

_ "Obi-Wan?" She called out loudly. _

_ "Obi-Wan?" A male voice repeated. "Oh that must be the man that was with you."_

_ Meleana turned to the sound of the voice and froze when she saw the man sitting on the arm chair near the bed. He was overly tall and solidly built. His shaggy black hair nearly covered his neon green eyes. "This isn't real."_

_ "No it isn't, but it will be soon enough." He stood up and walked towards her. She wanted to back away but found herself unable to move. "I'm coming to get you and until I do you'll be sleeping peacefully waiting for me." He put a hand on her hips._

_ "Where's Obi-Wan?"_

_ "Dead or at least he will be soon."_

_ Meleana tried hard to keep the tears out of her eyes. "And what are you going to do with me?"_

_ He smiled. "Make you a queen."_

_ She looked down at the floor. "Is this your dream or mine?"_

_ "Both."_

_ If it was her dream too she could at least try to get out of it. She tried to imagine herself somewhere else. Not just anywhere, someplace that would piss him off. She just needed to think of something. Though he had apparently become fascinated by her she knew nothing about him._

_ "What if I say no?" she said calmly._

_ "Then I'll make your life a nightmare."_

_ Meleana paused thoughtfully. "It sounds like my life would be hell either way. Why don't you do me a favor and kill me now. It will save me the trouble of doing it myself."_

_ "I'm not into corpses, though I'm sure you'd make a lovely corpse."_

_ "Why am I sleeping?" She asked trying not to lose all hope. _

_ He shrugged. "My sister is fond of drugging our targets."_

_"What kind of drugs?"_

_ "Any number of things. My guess would be she's got you heavily sedated rather than waste force inhibitors on you." _

_ Meleana sat down on the bed and shut her eyes. She had to be able to wake herself just enough to be aware of her body. If there was something pumping sedatives into her she had to try to get it off._

_ "What are you doing?" He asked in an impatient tone._

_ "Meditating."_

The drugs Obi-Wan had been given were beginning to wear off. He tried to move, his arms and legs felt heavy as though his muscles had been numbed. He couldn't tell if he'd been restrained or not, but assumed so.

"What did you do to me?" He could hear someone moving around on the other side of the room.

"Nothing to cause any permanent damage." She looked over at the chronometer. "You've recovered more in a few hours than most people do in an entire day."

"What did you do to the woman I was with?"

"Nothing yet." The woman walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. "If I were you I wouldn't be worried about her."

"Well you're clearly not me. So who are you?" Obi-Wan wiggled his fingers and toes, at least those worked.

"I'm the bounty hunter that caught you. That's all you need to know." She grabbed his chin and turned his head from side to side. "You're in good shape for a Jedi, no facial scars. I assume you're intact everywhere else?"

"I fail to see a point to your question." Obi-Wan wasn't sure if his facial muscles were responsive enough to form the look of disgust he was aiming for.

"Buyers are going to want to know. Unless of course they just want to use you as a fighter, but there is a shortage of powerful force users in the galaxy. At least of the variety that would be interested in purchasing a Jedi."

"Meleana was your bounty?" Obi-Wan asked recalling her conversation earlier.

"_Was_ being the key word. My brother has never been good with the pretty ones." She rolled her eyes thinking of all the jobs gone awry thanks to her brother's roving eye. "Understandably I will need to recoup the costs by selling you."

"And you really think you're capable of holding two Jedi prisoner?" He winced at the pressure as she sat down on his midsection.

"Not indefinitely, but I do have some experience with Jedi. I'm no wilting flower myself. Even if you did manage to free yourself my biggest challenge would be restraining you without causing any permanent damage. After I find a buyer for you, you're their problem."

"And what will happen to Meleana?"

She shrugged. "It's not my problem. My brother accidentally killed the last two. He tends to play a little too rough. They weren't Jedi though. Perhaps she'll fare better or at least slightly longer."

"Is your brother the bounty hunter that killed her Master?"

"Yes, not alone though. I hate it when he takes credit for everything! I'm the brains behind our family business! He never brings that up."

Obi-Wan took as deep a breath as he could with the woman on his stomach. "If all you want is money we can get it for you."

She slapped her hand down on his chest in frustration. "That's the thing! I got into this business for the money, but my brother… he's never been quite right in the head. If I took the bounty for that little girl and let her go… well he just might be mad enough to kill me. I'll allow you to buy yourself though. Unfortunately I can't let you go to do that. So unless you have say, five hundred thousand credits with you, you'll have to stay here and wait until we find someone that does."

_Meleana was spinning around a familiar room. She wasn't sure exactly where she was, but she felt comfortable there, like she belonged._

_ "Watch me mommy!" A small childish voice spilled from her lips. She stopped spinning and ran to the elegantly dressed woman sitting at the vanity. "Mommy! Mommy! Watch me!" _

_ Meleana felt like she was trapped inside someone else's body. She looked at her surroundings as the little girl pulled at her mothers dress. She looked out the window at the city beyond and realized where she was. She wasn't in someone else's body, she was in hers. She caught her reflection in the mirror she was small, no more than two, dressed in a dancers costume with a small white tiara on her blond head._

_ "Mommy isn't feeling very well sweetheart," The woman said looking down at the child._

_ Meleana looked up at her and was instantly struck by how much she looked like her mother. Her mother was smaller, her skin and hair were a little darker, but she was unmistakably her daughter._

_ The door to the room opened and a servant walked in with a tray of tea for her mother._

_ "Ikriv," Meleana shouted. "Watch! Watch!" she began twirling again._

_ Meleana suddenly had a terrible feeling. The servant with the tray of tea was the queen she had met with on her last mission. "Don't drink that!" she wanted to scream as she watched the woman set the tea down in front of her mother and walk out._

_ "Mommy!" The little girl ran back over to her mother. "Dance!"_

_ Her mother smiled at her and picked up the tea. "Mommy can't dance right now. Show me your dancing sweetheart." She picked up the cup and lifted it to her lips._

_ "No no no no no!" Meleana was shouting in her mind._

_ The little girl went back to frolicking and jumping around the room. She stopped when her mother started coughing. "Mommy!" she ran back to her mothers side. "Ok?"_

_ Her mother shook her head and turned away from little Meleana to vomit. "Go get your father." She choked out._

_ "No. Mommy ok?" Meleana grabbed her mothers leg. "Mommy!"_

_ Her mother fell from the chair nearly crushing the small child. Meleana grabbed her mother and began to cry in a way only small children could. Every inch of her little body was consumed by her sorrow as she clung to her dying mother screaming for her to answer._

_ "Are you enjoying your meditation?" The bounty hunter asked Meleana in a menacing tone._

_ Meleana showed no signs of emotion on her face. "It would be better if you'd stop talking." She took a deep focusing breath._

_ She was back inside the palace she was born in. Ikriv was bouncing her little brother on her lap. Meleana was older now, but not by much. She'd guessed this was around the age the Jedi would have taken her. Though her younger brother had taken instantly to his new mother Meleana had always been distrustful of her. She hated her. If Ikriv ever tried to get near her Meleana would kick and scream until the woman left her alone. Her father would plead with her to be respectful to her step mother, but she never was._

_ Ikriv had talked her father into giving her to the Jedi. It was the perfect way to get rid of a potential problem. She couldn't kill a perfectly healthy child; it would raise too much suspicion. _

_ "Daddy," Meleana said not looking up from the scribbled drawing she was doing. "Why do you want to get rid of me?"_

_ Her father got up and lifted her into his arms. He was tall and she always felt like she could fly when he held her. "I don't want to get rid of you precious." He kissed her pudgy little cheeks._

_ "Then why are you giving me away?"_

_ "Because you're a very strong little girl. You're meant to be more than a spoiled princess. The Jedi are going to teach you to grow up and be a warrior. You'll help people all over the galaxy." He hugged her closely not wanting her to see him cry. "And daddy will miss you very much."_

_ "I don't want to go! I don't want to be strong!" Meleana started waling. _

_ She'd heard her father arguing with Ikriv that night. She often snuck around the place after climbing out of her crib at night. A Jedi knight came for her the next morning._

_ "Here she is," Ikriv said letting the Jedi into Meleana's bedroom. "Good luck with that one."_

_ Meleana looked up at the Twi'lek female that had come to retrieve her. "I don't want to go." she said stubbornly._

_ The Twi'lek sat down next to where she was playing. "Why not?"_

_ "I want to stay with my daddy."_

_ "You're certainly articulate for someone your age." The Twi'lek said smiling at her._

_ "Ok," Meleana said not knowing what articulate meant but assuming it was a good thing. "Bye."_

_ "Let's go talk to your father and see what he has to say before I leave."_

_ "He's going to tell you to go away." Meleana said putting down her doll. "I know that's what he's going to say."_

_ The Jedi stood and held out her hand. "Will you hold my hand while we find your daddy so I don't get lost?"_

_ Meleana huffed and picked up her doll. "I've got to do everything!" she let out a small sigh and took the woman's hand. "Come on!"_

_ She led the Jedi to her father's room and knocked on the door. "You have to knock," Meleana said looking up at the Jedi. "Its good manners." Meleana opened the door when no one answered. She didn't know what good manners were exactly, just that you had to knock to have them. "Daddy!" She saw him lying in his bed. "Wait here. Dad's being a sleepy bum." She dropped the Jedi's hand and ran to the edge of the bed. "Daddy! Wake up sleepy bum!" She shook his arm but he didn't respond. _

_ The Jedi looked at her father's still pale face and her heart stopped. She walked over to the bed and picked Meleana up. She felt him for a pulse but his skin was cold to the touch. "Little one… your daddy isn't going to wake up."_

_ Ikriv ran into the room attracted by Meleana's screaming. "What are you doing in here?" She asked in a rage seeing the Jedi holding the little girl. "Get out now before I call the guards. I told you to take the girl and leave. You have no right to be snooping around!"_

_ "Your husband is dead," The Jedi said harshly._

_ "A fact I was hoping to spare the poor child. She already lost her mother. Just get out and tell her whatever lie you need to too keep her quiet!" _

_ Meleana whipped around in the Jedi's arms trying desperately to get away and attack Ikriv. "I hate you!" she screamed over and over as the Jedi carried her out of the room._

_ "Still doing well?" The bounty hunter asked with a wicked smile. "Or shall we go on?"_

_ Meleana took a deep breath. "It's encouraging. You're terrified that I might wake up."_

_ "That's one way to look at it. Let's skip ahead a few years shall we?"_

_ "I'd rather not. It's a little distracting."_

_ He attempted to force her into remembering unpleasant events from her past but found himself blocked. "I suppose you don't need me to point out the fact that everyone you love dies."_

_ "Do you really think mind games are going to work on me?"_

_ "Why not? They have before."_

_ Meleana was encouraged. She was gaining control of the situation and she wanted to test it. She imaged them somewhere else. Coruscant. She focused on the smell, the sounds. She felt a skywalk beneath her rather than a mattress. She opened her eyes and looked at the angry bounty hunter then at the city around them. "Oh, did you want some privacy?" she looked down at her lacy nightgown and imagined herself in Jedi tunics._

_ "Stop it!" She felt his anger tugging at her mind as he shouted at her._

_ Meleana shook her head. "I'm not afraid of you. Without all of your friends you're nothing but a terrified little boy looking for love." Meleana stood up and took a step towards him. "Get out of my head." She could feel him fighting to stay tangled in her mind as she pushed him away. "I said get out!" Meleana screamed. _

The moment he was out of her mind she regained some amount of consciousness. Without thought she slid her hand down one arm then the other. She was jerked awake by the pain of the needle tarring skin as she ripped it out backwards. She sat up slowly her head was spinning and it took all her will to fight the urge to go back to sleep.

Obi-Wan was sure he'd been strapped to the cold metal table he was laying on for at least a day. He was beginning to regain feeling in his muscles, which was both good and bad as they were all in pain. He still couldn't feel the force.

The woman had left several hours ago, presumably to sleep, and he'd been left on his own. He'd assumed escaping would be easy, until he discovered his lack of force powers. There was a tube sticking out of one of his arms, he guessed that was the cause of his force deadening. It was also keeping him from being entirely coherent. Compared to the way he'd felt when he woke up he was doing well, but he could tell he wasn't anywhere near his usual mental or physical speed. He felt like a failure. There entire mission had been a complete disaster from the very beginning and Meleana wasn't entirely to blame for any of it.

He heard the door open and let out a deep breath. He'd rather be alone than listening to his irritating kidnapper.

"How are you feeling?" The woman asked walking over to him.

"Fine," Obi-Wan replied.

"I've got some great news! I may have found a buyer for you. They do want to come and take a look at you first though, so please don't do anything stupid. If I have to hurt you your selling price will drop."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, not sure how she expected him to respond. More than anything he wanted to get out of his restraints and find Meleana. He couldn't stop thinking about the look she had in her tear filled eyes as she told him the story of her Master's death. Now she'd been kidnapped by those same people. He wanted to save her, to try and help her put herself back together.

"You certainly are quiet this morning." she said. "Not planning your escape are you?"

"You've done a fairly good job of preventing it." He answered. There had to be something he could do to get out of his restraints. All he needed to do was get the tube out of his arm and he'd be able to get himself and Meleana out of there.

"Thank you. It's always nice to have your work appreciated."

Obi-Wan felt the urge to vomit at the very idea of his next sentence. "Didn't you mention something about testing the merchandise the other day? I'm sure you'll find you're not charging enough for me." He tried his best to sound flirtatious rather than disgusted.

"True… on the other hand what I don't know can't hurt me. What if you're worth less?"

"I'm sure I won't disappoint," Obi-Wan wondered if freedom was really worth what he was trying to put himself through.

"Is that so?" She trailed her hand down his thigh. "I'm not entirely convinced that this won't backfire on me."

"Isn't it more fun when there's an element of danger?" The conviction in his voice made him want to gag.

She smiled slightly. "You make a good point." Her hands ran underneath the waistband of his pants.

The door opened distracting the woman. Meleana staggered in and glared at the familiar figure, whose hands were still half way down Obi-Wan's pants.

"Back off," Meleana said sharply.

The woman took a step away from Obi-Wan and looked at the stumbling Jedi. There was a trail of blood dripping from her arm and she could barely stand up straight. "You're unarmed and incapacitated. What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"

Meleana stumbled towards her and stopped a few paces in. She rested one arm on a bent knee and motioned her forward, too tired to continue. "Come here."

"What?" The woman snorted. She pulled out a blaster and fired a stun shot at Meleana.

Meleana moved out of the way more gracefully than she thought she'd be able to. She looked at the vibroblade at the woman's side. It was the same blade that had distracted her just before her Master died.

"You want it?" The woman asked following Meleana's eyes. "Take it."

Meleana tried to use the force but found her pull was too weak to do anything but shake the blade. The woman drew her sword and charged her. Meleana side stepped and gripped her opponent's blade arm. A searing heat sent waves of pain through Meleana when the other woman's free hand clasped over her skin and she lost her grip. The pain knocked her back, she fell to her knees and was quickly flat on the floor after the bounty hunter planted a kick on her ribcage.

She pushed her body off the floor and plowed into the other woman, knocking her back into the wall. She dodged the vibroblade as it thrust towards her. The blade slashed towards Meleana's face and she was forced to block with her forearm. The blade slid in deep. Meleana moved her arm and the blade with it grinding her teeth to suppress a scream. She head butted the other woman in the nose and she slid her arm down the blade to grab her hand. The second their hands touched Meleana could feel and smell burning skin. She screamed in pain but didn't let go. She tightened her grip and pounded the woman's hand into the wall.

"Meleana, you don't sound like you're winning." Obi-Wan said trying to see what was going on.

Meleana ignored him and twisted the woman's arm until she dropped the blade. Her legs were kicked out from under her and she fell to the floor with the woman on top of her. Her free hand wrapped around Meleana's neck and tightened around it burning the skin as she choked the life out of her. Meleana grabbed the offending arm with both hands and dug her nails in deeply. She punched the woman with all her might distracting her enough to loosen her grip. Meleana got to her feet and tried to catch her breath. The bounty hunter grabbed her blade from the floor and thrust it up towards Meleana, who didn't move fast enough. It sliced through her right side. Meleana fell forwards on top of the woman and grabbed her by the neck. She flipped her into the wall and kicked her wrist hard enough to cause her to drop the vibroblade.

Meleana felt her attacker's hands tangle in her hair, but didn't react fast enough to keep her head from being jerked back. The bounty hunter grabbed her blade and got back to her feet dragging Meleana up by the hair. Meleana coiled her legs around hers tripping her before she could do any more damage with her blade. She caught an elbow to the throat from Meleana and released her hair. Meleana pinned her legs to the ground with hers and went for her sword hand.

The bounty hunter thrust her blade towards the Jedi. Meleana's arm shot out to stop her, but not before the blade had already sunk a few inches into her side. Meleana used both hands to grip the woman's wrist. With one on each side she snapped it back. There was a crack and a scream as her wrist broke. Meleana grabbed the vibroblade and jabbed it into the woman's heart. She slowly got to her feet and stumbled over to Obi-Wan.

She practically fell onto the table he'd been strapped too. She heard him say something but his voice didn't register. She summoned what little force she could muster and loosened his bindings before her body fell forwards.

Obi-Wan grabbed Meleana before she could slide onto the floor and looked at the trails of blood soaking the room. He put his feet on the floor and stood shakily with her in his arms. He pulled the sashes off his tunic and tied off the worst of her wounds before running to the nearest computer. A ship this large had to have some kind of medical facility. He found what he was looking for on the ships schematics and scooped Meleana back into his arms.

Adrenaline made up for his drugged state as he ran with her through the empty halls of the ship. He opened the door to the medical room.

"Hello! What is your medical emergency?" A droid greeted him cheerfully.

"She needs help," he spread her out on the exam table.

The droid immediately went to work removing her clothing and the improvised bandages. "She certainly has lost a lot of blood." The droids voice was annoyingly cheerful. It began cauterizing her wounds with one appendage while taking readouts and tests with others. "Regretfully we do not have her blood type in this facility. I recommend a transfer."

Obi-Wan looked at Meleana's pale face. "I can't transfer her!"

The droid made an unhappy sound. "Then I regret to inform you her chances of living are only point two five seven. Without a blood transfusion the procedure required to stop her internal bleeding will kill her. Without the procedure the bleeding will kill her."

Obi-Wan rolled up his sleeve and thrust his arm towards the droid. "Test my blood."

The droid pricked him. "You have a very high level of toxins in your blood."

"So?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.

"While your blood type is a match, the toxins may lead to further complications. Do you consent to complications up to and including death?"

"That's really the option no matter what we do!"

"Do you consent?"

"Yes!" As soon as Obi-Wan had consented, the droid, quite shockingly, shot a tube into his arm and another into Meleana's. "Shouldn't you wait until you've begun the surgery?" Obi-Wan asked.

The droid began cutting open Meleana's side to repair her internal injuries. "I did inform you of the risk."

"I thought you meant her death!"

"That is still a possibility," The droids tone was still as chipper as ever. "I will do my best to preserve both of your lives."

Obi-Wan started feeling lightheaded. "How much longer?"

"I will be done shortly." The droid finished repairing Meleana's injuries and stitched her side. The tube retracted from both the Jedi's arms.

Obi-Wan moved slowly to the nearest chair and sat down. "Will she be alright?"

"Barring any unforeseen complications she should be fine. I will submerge her in bacta as soon as I have closed her wounds."

"Good," Obi-Wan said in a distant voice. He passed out seconds after the word passed through his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

-7-

Obi-Wan had just finished speaking with the council when he heard Meleana call his name. She'd slept through all of his repairs to the ship and the grueling lecture he'd received from Master Windu. He walked into the main room. "How are you feeling?" He asked glad to see her up and about.

"Fine," she took a seat at the table. "What happened?"

"After the fight?" She nodded and he continued. "You passed out. The ship had a medical facility, with a very strange, but competent medical droid. After nearly killing me he patched you right up."

Meleana looked confused. "Why are medical droids trying to kill you?"

"He decided to give you more of my blood than he should have."

"That was sweet of him." She looked at the expression on Obi-Wan's face. "I mean you." Meleana touched her face. "I'm not horribly disfigured am I?"

"As far as I could tell you didn't take any blows to the face."

Meleana dropped her hands. "I try to keep the hurt bellow the neck. Where are we?"

"On our way back to Coruscant. The mission on Ithor was finished a week ago."

Meleana sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Wonderful, they must be pleased with us."

"Not exactly the word I would use. They want a full report from both of us as soon as we get back."

Meleana frowned. "So much for wanting to go back to Coruscant." Meleana stared up at the ceiling. "I've got the feeling I'm not going to make it to twenty-two."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've had two near death experiences since turning twenty-one and that was only two months ago."

"_Near_ death, not actual death. You can't live life assuming you're going to die at any moment."

"Why not?" Meleana looked at him. "Even a banker can wake up and be killed in a speeder accident on his way to work. People who live safe, quiet, comfortable lives die unexpectedly all the time. We're constantly putting ourselves into dangerous situations. Thinking that death isn't a possibility on any given day is ridiculous."

"I'm not saying you should think you're an immortal, but expecting to die on a daily basis is not healthy."

"I don't expect to die on a daily basis."

"It sounds like you do. You know your fights might end better if you'd stop using your body as a shield."

Meleana pursed her lips. "It's not like I had much of a choice without my lightsaber. Where is my lightsaber anyway?"

"In the kitchen."

"Why is it in the kitchen?"

He shrugged. "There were no clean knives."

Meleana gave him a half smile. "I can't picture you using a lightsaber to chop vegetables."

"That just happens to be where I dropped it. I still think you should have been able to get out of that fight without sustaining quite so many injuries."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "And you're the authority on fighting now?"

"I did kill a Sith Lord."

"I thought no one knew if you'd killed the Master or the Apprentice?" Meleana added.

"Must you always belittle me?"

Meleana nodded. "Pretty much."

"I'm only saying you have room for improvement and there may be a few things you could learn from me."

Meleana sighed. "Fine, show me what you've got then."

"Right now? Aren't you tired?"

"The bad guys usually ask me the same question just before they strike." Meleana said in a sarcastic tone as she got to her feet. "I feel fine." She moved into the center of the large room and got into a defensive stance. "Come on."

Obi-Wan stood and analyzed her stance. From what he'd seen of her fighting so far she was fairly aggressive and relied heavily on her ability to move faster than her opponent. He side stepped behind her and grabbed one of her arms in a fluid motion. She moved with him keeping pressure off her arm. She reached up and thrust her forearm towards his throat. He gripped her arm with his free hand and tossed her to the floor. She landed with a heavy thump and rolled to the side to avoid another kick. She back flipped back to her feet. Meleana threw a punch at Obi-Wan's head. He caught her fist and threw her backwards. Meleana recovered mid air and landed on her feet.

Obi-Wan landed a kick to her chest as her feet hit the floor. The force of it was enough to send her back against the wall. She flipped over him and threw a few punches. He blocked all but one. The punch jarred him enough to give Meleana a second opening. She kicked him in the side hard enough to knock him off his feet. He sprang off the floor as quickly as she had put him there and dropped low. He swung a kick under her legs, knocking her onto her back. She got his ankles between hers and twisted him down to the ground with her. They both jumped back to their feet.

Meleana swung a high kick towards him. He kicked her leg down then grabbed her wrists and slammed her into the wall with enough force to make her see stars. Obi-Wan kept hold of her wrists and pinned her legs down with his.

Meleana tried to twist her wrists free then to push them off the wall. "Are we allowed to use force powers?"

He shook his head. "We're not trying to kill each other."

"You could have fooled me," she strained as she tried to out muscle him.

He allowed her to lift her wrists a few inches off the wall only to crush them back down again.

"Ouch! Was that necessary?"

Meleana gave up trying to free her wrists, she was better with her legs anyway. She pushed up with her arms as hard as she could to distract him and slid one of her legs free. Obi-Wan used his full body to press her into the wall.

"Congratulations you have one leg."

Meleana moved her leg up intent on kicking him in the shoulder and pressing him off of her. He let go of one of her wrists and pinned her leg, with her wrist behind it, back against the wall over her head.

"That looks painful," he said with a smile. Meleana was making it very difficult for him to keep his focus.

"Alright let me go."

He shook his head. "You're going to have to get away on your own."

Meleana pushed up into him and winced at the painful stretch in her leg. "I can't." she moved her other leg, hoping things would work out better for her on this attempt. Obi-Wan caught it and tangled it between his. He pressed her more firmly into the wall making it difficult for her to breath.

"You win," she choked out.

"The point wasn't for me to win." The more she squirmed against him, the less he wanted to let her go, though that had nothing to do with combat training.

"Just let me go," she said breathlessly.

"No," His lips grazed her cheek as he spoke.

Meleana pushed her hips into his, he may have been able to feel her racing heartbeat, but she felt a much more obvious indicator of his arousal. He pressed back into her with equal force. His grip tightened on her limbs, as though that would tether him to reality. She kissed him forcefully, he may have her pinned to a wall, but she hadn't completely lost control. He moaned, there was no hiding his need for her, but he wouldn't let her win the fight with feminine whiles.

"Does this tactic usually work?" He asked breaking the kiss.

"I've never tried it before," she said nipping at his neck. "You tell me."

"That depends on what the desired result is." He moaned again as she ground her hips into him.

Meleana brushed her nose over his and widened her violet eyes at him. "Do you want more?" She whispered batting her eyes.

"Yes," It wasn't as though he could conceal that fact, "But I'm still not letting you go," he added. "Just so we're clear."

"Then at least I'll enjoy my time on the wall." She tugged gently at his earlobe with her teeth. "Undress me," she purred.

He kissed her trying to think of a way to undress her without losing his grip. "You won't try to get away?"

Meleana pushed her hips into him again. "There's only one way to find out," she brushed her lips over his. "How long can you stay pressed against me like that before it starts to hurt?"

"It already hurts."

"I'm not wearing any underwear. That should make things a little easier for you." she said in a playful voice.

He moved his hand off of her leg, holding it down with just his forearm. He flicked his wrist and she yelped as her shirt tore off of her.

"I thought you said no force powers," she said.

"This doesn't count as part of the fight."

He wanted to touch her, kiss her, but doing so would definitely give her the chance to get away, and he wasn't entirely sure her advances weren't a ploy.

"How are you going to get my pants down without letting go of me?" She kissed him softly and wiggled against him. "Let go of my hands and I'll take care of yours."

He let go of her leg, which freed the wrist pinned beneath it and hoped for the best. He moaned feeling Meleana's free hand tugging at his pants.

"Thank you," Meleana said kissing him through labored breathing. "That was very informative."

He smiled. "This was not my original intention."

"We probably shouldn't make a habit of this," Meleana said relaxing underneath him.

"Well we should be back on Coruscant tomorrow." Obi-Wan got up and grabbed his pants off the floor. "I'm sure we'll be too preoccupied to chase each other down in the hallway."

Meleana furrowed her brow. "I'm not much of a chaser even when I'm not preoccupied."

Meleana woke up first the next morning. She lifted Obi-Wan's arm off of her and set it gently on the bed next to him. She got out of bed and grabbed some fresh clothing while the events of the previous day ran through her head. They'd spent nearly the entire day dressing and undressing each other. She sighed and walked into the washroom. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this. They were bored. They'd been together all day everyday for over a month. Things were bound to happen.

She turned on the water and hopped into the shower. They were two attractive young people. It wasn't unheard of for people like that to engage in the behaviors they had. It didn't explain the change in the way they acted towards each other. She was worried that she might actually be starting to like him. Try as she might she couldn't keep her mind off of him. She picked up a bottle of soap and started to read the label. Somehow the words 'rich lather' steered her mind in the wrong direction. She scolded herself and put the soap down. She just needed to hold it together for a few more hours, then they'd be back at the temple and she'd never have to be alone in a room with him again. At this point any further inappropriate interaction with him would only make matters worse.

"May I join you?" Obi-Wan's voice jolted her from her thoughts.

"Sure," _Sure!_ She thought to herself, she'd just told herself she'd avoid inappropriate interaction and then immediately invited him into the shower?

"Why do you look so angry?" He asked with a laugh as he stepped into the shower.

That would have been the perfect time to tell him she'd made a mistake and politely excuse her self. "I got soap in my eyes."

"Do I need to teach you the proper way to shower defensively as well?"

"Is that going to turn out the same way the fighting lesson did?" She asked in an innocent tone.

He kissed her and pressed her against the shower wall. "Why don't we just skip to the end of the lesson?"

Meleana's tension quickly melted away under his touch. She ran her hands up his chest as his hands slid down her body. "Stop." she said into the kiss.

"What?"

She pushed him away and got out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and raced into the bedroom, locking the door behind her. Meleana buried her face in her hands why couldn't she just talk to him like a normal person? Now she'd have to talk to him and all she'd succeeded in doing was making things more awkward.

She got out of bed and dressed quickly. She stormed back into the main room and almost plowed into Obi-Wan on his way out of the shower. "Ok, that was stupid and I am really embarrassed. So I'm just going to keep talking and completely humiliate myself." She hadn't thought things through enough to know what she was going to say next.

"I thought you were going to talk?" he said after a long pause.

"I am!" She shouted. "I just don't know what to say! I've never really been in a situation like this before."

"And what situation would that be?"

She gaped at him for a minute. "One that involves repeat performances."

"Oh... then there won't be anymore performances. Is that all?"

Meleana's eyes widened. How could he be so composed when she was flipping out? "What do you mean is that all? I'm losing it and all you can say is 'is that all,' what's wrong with you!"

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "Nothing is wrong with me. I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable. I'm used to multiple encounters, I had no idea it would make you feel so awkward."

"Well it does."

"I apologize. Can I get dressed now?"

Meleana stepped out of his way. "Sorry." She followed him into her bedroom. "This isn't going to change anything is it?"

Obi-Wan turned to look at her. "We won't be having sex any more."

"I should let you get dressed." She walked out and sat down at the table in the main room with her head down.

"Are you hungry?" Obi-Wan asked casually as he walked into the main room. "If you say no I'm going to cook for you anyway."

"Then I guess I'm hungry."

Obi-Wan walked back into the main room with two plates of food and sat down across from Meleana.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You must think I'm incredibly immature."

He shook his head. "Not at all. It's really not a big deal. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"I'm sorry I'm not good at… people."

He chuckled. "You're a trained negotiator."

"I know, I mean professionally I'm fine. Personally I'm a disaster. I've got three friends, one of which I haven't even seen for four years. Only one of them is a Jedi and I don't even think she'd talk to me if we hadn't been friends since we were younglings."

"And what about friend number three?"

"She's a game designer. I ran into her on one of my secret nights out of the temple. She was in trouble, I saved her. We kept in touch. She's an odd girl, which probably explains why she likes me."

"Are you happy with your friends?"

Meleana shrugged. "I guess… why does it seem like we're always talking about me?"

"Because I don't like to talk about myself. If there's something you'd like to know ask and I'll tell you."

Meleana shook her head. "No. I don't really care."

Obi-Wan had to stifle a laugh to keep from choking. "I think I've figured out why you don't have any friends."

Meleana shrugged. "What's the point? We'll be back on Coruscant in a few hours and we'll likely never see each other again. So why bother?"

"Has anyone ever told you your honesty is refreshing?"

"Yes."

"They were lying."

"Would you rather I lie? I'm not going to sugar coat things so you feel better. You're a big boy."

"I'm only saying, your abrasive personality might explain why you've only got three and a half friends."

"Half?"

He nodded. "I only like you fifty percent of the time."

"Better than none of the time, and I like my abrasive personality, it tends to weed out the people that aren't worth my time."

"So no one is worth your time?"

Meleana rolled her eyes. "It's not like I wander around interviewing people for the position of Meleana's friend."

"Oh you're referring to yourself in the third person now? That's always attractive."

"Meleana doesn't care what you think of her."

"That's been obvious since the beginning." Obi-Wan finished his plate and pushed it away. "So what are you going to do when we get back to Coruscant?"

Meleana thought a moment. She didn't like being at the temple, but she was equally sick of hyperspace. "I don't know. I haven't really been there in a while. Not for an extended period of time at least. Maybe I'll catch up with my friend if she's there. What are you going to do?"

"Train my new apprentice. Dodge any questions he may have about this disaster of a mission. See my plethora of friends."

"Well I hope you and your plethora of friends enjoy yourselves."

They arrived on Coruscant a few hours later and went to report to the Council immediately. The Council was not at all pleased with them, and most of the blame fell on Meleana despite Obi-Wan's admission of guilt.

Obi-Wan had to rush to catch the turbo-lift with Meleana she'd run out of the Council room so quickly.

Meleana gave him a humorless look as he caught the door and hopped in. "If you're going to try to cheer me up don't waste your time."

"They are not terribly fond of you."

Meleana crossed her arms over her chest. "No they aren't. They weren't very fond of my Master either. I've been guilty by association for a while now."

The lift stopped. Obi-Wan held the door. "If you need someone to talk to, feel free to come find me."

Meleana nodded. "Thanks." Obi-Wan stepped off and the doors closed. She leaned back against the wall and let out a deep sigh. She didn't want to be in the temple. Every corner of the temple reminded her of her Master. If she hadn't felt out of place and unwanted before she certainly did after being reamed by the Council. She was sick of looking at the inside of her ship, but she wasn't in the mood to wander the halls of the temple either.

She decided to leave the temple. The bustling Coruscant streets were exactly what she needed. No one knew who she was or cared. If she hadn't been in such a rush to get out of the temple she would have taken the time to fix her speeder bike to take it out for a ride, but given the circumstances walking through the crowded streets was exactly what she needed. She made her way into a Cantina when she was sick of walking. It was early and the cantina was filled with only the most die hard drinkers and depressed citizens of Coruscant. Meleana scoffed at the idea that she felt more at home here than in the temple she'd grown up in. She sat down at the bar and ordered a drink.

Before her Master had died all she could think of was becoming a Jedi Knight. Now she didn't know what she wanted. One event had completely changed the way she looked at the world. After spending the past month wanting nothing but to be left alone she suddenly felt very lonely. She had too much on her mind to be left to her own devices. She downed her drink quickly and tossed some credits on the bar. If she was ever going to find any peace she needed to stop avoiding her problems.

She spent the early half of the day working on the exterior of the ship. She finished the repairs to the hull of the cabin and buffed out the metal scraps Obi-Wan had used to make the earlier repairs. She found an extra can of the burgundy paint she had originally used on the ship and touched up the rough areas. She stepped back to admire her work. It didn't look as good as new, droids probably would have done a better job, but it was back in working order. She stood in the docking bay for a long time watching the paint dry thinking of nothing in particular.

A loud growl from her stomach snapped her out of her trance. She looked around hoping no one was around to hear. She was starved, but she hadn't restocked the food on the ship yet. She cringed at the idea of eating in the dinning hall, but wasn't in the mood to wander through the streets looking for suitable cuisine either.

The dinning hall was crowded. If Meleana hadn't spent so much time watching paint dry she could have been in and out before the evening rush, but she was never that lucky. She grabbed a tray of food and scanned the room for a place to sit. There were no empty tables, which meant she'd need to find someone who wouldn't mind her squeezing in with them. Her eyes caught a familiar face, though not one she was in any hurry to eat with. After a minute more of searching she walked over to Latira, a woman who had been in the same group of younglings as Meleana. They weren't friendly, but as far as she knew there was no recent reason why they wouldn't be on speaking terms.

"Hi," Meleana said taking a seat across from her.

Latira looked away from her conversation and smiled politely at Meleana. She was a tall human with olive skin and deep brown eyes. Her narrow features had always given her a delicateness that was completely at odds with her personality. Meleana caught sight of her Padawan braid and wondered if her lack of one might cause a problem. When her group had grown old enough to be chosen as Padawans they split into two very competitive sides. Meleana and Latira hadn't seen eye to eye on anything since their tenth birthdays.

It had only taken one member of their group to cause the rift. Unis, the most aggressive girl in their all female pack had become jealous of Meleana and forced everyone else to pick a side. This only increased Meleana's popularity. The other girls didn't like being forced to pick their friends and most sided with Meleana by default. Other than Meleana, only two went on to be chosen as Padawan's. Latira and Ketana, Meleana's only Jedi friend. Of the three Meleana had become a Jedi Knight first.

"I hear you passed the trials." Latira said in a cold tone.

Meleana nodded, not really wanting to talk about it. Latira's tone was enough for her to know she still held a grudge.

"You're ability to win sympathy from the Council amazes me. How is it something always happens to make you look like the victim at precisely the right time?" Latira narrowed her eyes at Meleana. "Is someone going to trip and drop their food tray on you now so you can avoid answering my question?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Meleana wished she'd stayed on her ship. Eating a ration pack and watching paint dry didn't sound too bad anymore.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Unis had been Latira's best friend. She had left the order after attacking Meleana during a training session. Latira had always blamed Meleana for provoking her and driving her away. "Do you honestly think you deserve to be here at all? Much less as a Jedi Knight?"

Meleana saw a table clear across the room and got up without another word to Latira. Obviously ten years wasn't long enough for her to get over her issues. She sat down and stared at her untouched plate of food. She looked up when someone else sat down at her table.

"Hello," The Jedi, who closely resembled Obi-Wan, said in a friendly tone.

"Hi…" Meleana was a little confused at the familiarity in his voice. "Do I know you?"

"No. I was told to sit here and watch you."

Meleana had a mixture of confusion and worry on her face. "Why?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you."

Meleana furrowed her brow. "Who told you to watch me?"

"I'm also not allowed to tell you."

"Obi-Wan?"

The other Jedi frowned. "Well that didn't take long. I'm Garen Muln."

"Do you do everything he says?" Meleana wasn't in the mood for games.

"Don't be mad at Garen," Obi-Wan said hearing the bitterness in her voice as he approached. He took a seat next to her. "Not only did you have the only free table, you also looked like you were about to burst into tears. I thought I'd send him over to make sure you didn't embarrass yourself. You need to stop looking forlorn over your food. It's a little pathetic."

Meleana bit the inside of her cheek and started to get up. "Go kiss a Hutt."

He grabbed her arm to keep her from running away. "I was just teasing you." He saw Anakin coming. "Please sit down and get anything else you might have to say to me off your chest before my Padawan gets here."

Meleana rolled her eyes at him and sat back down. "I'm not in the mood for… anything."

"Awe did you miss me that much?"

"I hadn't noticed you were gone until you showed up again. Are you stalking me?"

"Only if you want me to," he said with a smile trying to get a laugh out of her.

Anakin sat down between Obi-Wan and Garen. "Hi." he said to Meleana. "I'm Anakin Skywalker. Are you a friend of Master Obi-Wan's too?"

Meleana raised a brow at Obi-Wan. "Only by the loosest definition."

"Huh?" Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan. "What does that mean?"

"She's upset with me for playing a joke on her."

"Oh." He looked back at Meleana. "Are you the one with a starship?"

Meleana nodded. "If you can call it that."

Obi-Wan nudged her in the arm with his elbow. "Stop questioning my Padawan's vocabulary."

"Can I see it!" Anakin asked excitedly. "I'm a pilot you know! Maybe I can fly it! Master can I fly it?"

"Maybe another day Anakin. Jedi Ariadne is probably tired."

Meleana looked at the eagerness in the boy's eyes. "I need to do some things tomorrow. Would you like to come see it the day after?"

"Can I?" Anakin asked looking to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Can we come by in the morning?"

"Sure," Meleana said clearing her plate. "I should get going. I'll see you later."

Meleana spent most of the next day cleaning and restocking her ship. After such a long mission everything needed to be replenished and cleaned. By the time she finished it was already late in the evening. She went to bed for lack of anything better to do, but found herself unable to sleep. It was late enough that most of the Jedi in the temple would have already been asleep. It seemed like the perfect time for her to enjoy the temple in peace.

Meleana was floating on her back in the lake inside of the Jedi temple. For the first time in a long while she felt completely serene staring up at the night sky on the ceiling. She was alone in the room, contemplating the galaxy and gently kicking herself through the water. She moved to the shore feeling another presence in the room. She knew it was Master Yoda without looking.

"Up late you are." he said walking to the shore line.

Meleana stopped before she got to shore, not positive she was comfortable talking to a Council member in a two piece swimsuit. "I just needed to clear my head."

He nodded. "Time to reflect need you. Run from your troubles you do."

Meleana took a deep breath. "I don't run from my problems. I just do what I need to do to keep them from affecting my life."

"But affect you they do. Though a Jedi Knight you may be, much to learn have you."

Run-ins like this were precisely the reason Meleana stayed locked in her ship most of the time. "That's why you sent me on a mission with Obi-Wan, so I could learn from him?"

"Much in common you have."

Meleana saw no point in concealing her annoyance. Whether her face showed it or not Master Yoda would know her feelings. "You must see something in us we don't."

Master Yoda chuckled. "So stubborn you are."

Meleana was beginning to think there wasn't a point to this midnight meeting with Yoda. "If there is nothing else Master I'm very tired. I was just about to head out when you came in."

"A mission for you I have. On Corellia Ketana is. Heard from her we have not. Find her you will. Details I will send to you. Leave tomorrow you will."

Meleana bowed in the water. "Yes Master."

Meleana woke early the next morning and contacted Obi-Wan to see if he and Anakin could come by before she left. She wanted to cancel on them, but felt terrible when she thought back to the excitement on Anakin's face. Obi-Wan said he'd wake Anakin up and bring him down right away. He even offered to cook for her to thank her for indulging his Padawan.

Meleana smiled at them as she answered the door. "Good morning," she said to the sleepy looking Padawan. She brought Anakin into the control room while Obi-Wan went to the kitchen.

"This is great! Can I fly it?" Anakin said taking a seat in the captain's chair.

"Not today. Come on I'll show you the engine room."

"You built this whole thing?" Anakin hopped out of the chair and followed her out.

"All by myself."

Meleana finished showing him all of the mechanical bits and pieces of the ship just as Obi-Wan was setting the table.

"Can I live in here?" Anakin exclaimed peeking into the cabin.

"I don't think your Master would be very happy about that." She pat him on the back. "Let's go eat. You've seen all the good stuff."

They finished eating and Obi-Wan sent Anakin to look at the outside of the ship. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"Corellia. My Jedi friend was on a mission there. She was due back a week ago and she hasn't reported in. It's probably nothing, but Master Yoda wants me to go track her down." Meleana didn't get the sense that Ketana was in trouble, but it wasn't like her not to check in.

"Well be careful. I won't be around to catch you."

Meleana gave him a slight smile. "Have you gotten hero syndrome?"

"There's a syndrome?" He gave her a quirky grin. "Let me know when you get back. I'm sure Anakin would love to take a ride in your ship."

"Are you using your Padawan as an excuse to see me?" She smiled as his face flushed red. "That's sort of cute and very desperate."

"I'll take what's left of my dignity and let you get going."

"You're cute when you're humiliated." Meleana said with a smile. "I'll see what I can do about getting Anakin a ride in my ship."


	8. Chapter 8

-8-

Meleana landed in a small town high in the mountains of Corellia. Unlike the last mountains she'd been forced to explore these were developed. Stores lined paved roads. Lights from houses were beginning to glitter from the mountain top as the sun began to set. She hadn't been told what Ketana was doing there, only that it was the last place she had been before she disappeared.

The Jaded Star landed in a clearing on the edge of town. She'd always thought cantinas were the best place to start looking for information and it was just late enough that the regulars would be in, but the crowds would not. Ketana wasn't as prone as Meleana towards frequenting cantinas, but it was a good bet that she'd been in at least once during her mission.

Meleana took a seat in the middle of the bar and ordered a drink. She sipped and focused in on the conversations around her. None of them were helpful. It was possible Ketana had moved on to one of the other near by towns.

"You're looking for the Jedi?" The bartender asked leaning in closely to her.

"Am I that obvious?" Meleana asked a little disappointed that she screamed Jedi in a crowd.

"I saw one in here about a week ago. She was arguing with a man. I don't know who he was. Never saw him before and I haven't seen him since."

"Did you hear any of their conversation?"

The bartender nodded. "Something about he shouldn't be there, he'd get her into trouble. I didn't think much of it till I saw you come in."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

The bartender shook his head. "He had his back to me. He was human, black hair."

Meleana furrowed her brow. That didn't narrow things down much at all. Ketana was cool headed, it didn't make sense that she'd be yelling at a stranger in a bar. "Do you have any idea why she would have been here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but there's been some strange goings on in the woods."

Meleana had the feeling this would be one of those missions. "What sort of goings on?"

"I haven't gone out there myself, but I've heard stories. People hear screaming late at night. They find animal corpses hanging from trees. A couple people have disappeared. Strange stuff."

Strange yes, but hardly a reason for a Jedi to be called in. "Thanks for the information," Meleana got the impression that the bartender served himself more than he did the customers. She finished her drink and ordered another one, hoping someone else would come along with some useful information. She heard two men talking about a recent hunting trip and moved to sit at their table. They didn't seem at all offended by the company of an attractive woman.

"You go hunting out in these woods?" Meleana asked smiling sweetly. She'd learned a long time ago that in some cases a sweet smile was a better tool than all her years of training. She sipped her drink causally as the men started telling her of their recent conquests. Killing an herbivore was hardly Meleana's idea of a manly display of courage and might.

"Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"

"Of course," one of the men, the one with fewer teeth than the other, replied. "We don't go up the north trail any more."

"But don't you worry, you just stay away from the north trail and you'll be fine."

Meleana smiled at the men. "Thank you for your time," she said getting up.

Meleana walked back into the street and looked for the nearest clothing store. In the off chance that someone was hunting Jedi she'd rather not stick out. She was sure she'd blend in if she was wearing a similar style coat to the rest of the town. She walked into the nearest shop and purchased a loose white coat. It hung low enough to cover her lightsaber and looked fashionable enough to suit a woman her age.

She looked at her reflection in the store window and pondered her next move. She could go into the woods, but it didn't seem likely that Ketana was there. It was possible she'd lost it and become a crazy mountain hermit, but that also seemed highly unlikely. It occurred to Meleana that an inn keeper would have been much more likely to have actually interacted with Ketana than a bartender.

It had been cold earlier, but the sun had made it pleasant. Now that the sun was beginning to set there was an icy chill growing in the air. Meleana was glad to walk into the warm inn. The bottom floor was a restaurant with a long bar against the far wall. It had a quaint mountain charm about it.

"What can I do for you?" The inn keeper asked as she approached the bar.

"I'm looking for someone. She's a little shorter than I am with long reddish-brown hair and light brown eyes."

"The Jedi?"

Meleana frowned, it's not as though they walked around with their lightsabers blazing. "Yes the Jedi."

"She was here. I haven't seen her in a week or so." The inn keeper eyed Meleana wondering if all the Jedi were cute human brunettes.

Meleana ignored his stare. "Did you ever see a man with her? Or following her? Did she mention what she was doing here?"

The inn keeper thought a moment. "She kept to herself mostly. Very polite young woman, but she never volunteered any information. There was a man. He came in asking all sorts of questions about her. He was about my height, stocky, blonde hair. I hadn't seen him before and he never came back again after that. She wasn't in when he came by."

Meleana ordered a drink and went over what she knew in her head. Ketana was on a mission to Corellia, this town was the last place she'd been when she contacted the council just over a week ago. She'd had an argument with one man in the cantina, and another was asking about her at the inn, at around the same time. Then she'd lost contact with the temple. At this point common sense was telling Meleana she should be concerned for her friend, but she felt nothing through the force. She and Ketana had a very strong bond. Even as children if one of them was hurting the other knew about it. Meleana had once convinced her Master to fly her to the other side of the galaxy because she thought Ketana was in trouble, but right now she did not get the sense that was the case.

Maybe this mission was just a test. Ketana was probably back at the Jedi temple with Master Yoda watching Meleana run around a mountaintop on a hidden camera and laughing. It was strange that no one had given Meleana any information on Ketana's mission. Perhaps that was the test, and the Council did believe Ketana was in some amount of trouble. Whatever the case Meleana needed more information. So far the only thing she had to go on was the north trail in the woods, a blond, and a brunette.

"Have you had any human male guests with black hair?" Meleana asked. If the man was from off world it was likely he stayed here. The inn didn't seem to have many guests so it was likely the inn keeper would remember him if he'd seen him.

"Tall, kind of on the thin side?"

Meleana shrugged. "Does he have black hair?"

"Yeah there's a man staying here that fits that description. Come to think of it he and the Jedi seemed pretty surprised to see each other here."

Meleana's mind was racing. "Good surprised?"

"At first yeah, then they stopped talking to each other."

"What was his name?" Meleana's heart was racing, if it was who she thought it was, and the description matched, she didn't know what she'd do. At the moment she felt like vomiting on the bar.

"I've got it in the logs." The inn keeper pulled up his records and started scanning the dates. "Rendain Aron."

Meleana's eyes widened and she had to contain her excitement to keep from jumping off her bar stool with glee. "What room is he in?"

"Number three," he watched the Jedi jump out of her seat and run into the hall. "But I don't think he's in right now," he shouted after her.

Meleana banged on the door to room number three, but there was no answer. Rendain was her Master's son. Her Master had never talked about how he came to be. He had insisted on keeping him with him despite the Councils strong advisement not to. The only thing Ari had ever told either of them was that he was born on Dathomir. Rendain had always had force powers, but his had been different from those of a Jedi. He had an amazing ability to heal, even those close to death. He could turn a solid wall into a puddle, though he rarely did. As a teenager Rendain had always been there to watch out for Meleana. She'd always thought of him as her big brother. She hadn't seen or heard from him in four years, ever since he decided to go explore the galaxy.

As time passed in front of the door Meleana's smile turned into a frown. He wasn't there. She'd missed him. Meleana walked slowly back to the exit. She stopped and turned back to the inn keeper. "If he comes back," she said. "Tell him Meleana's looking for him. The same goes for the Jedi."

The sun was down now, but Meleana was far from tired. She had one lead left to go on, the north path. Most people would be frightened to go to such a place late at night, but not a Jedi. If there was something, or someone, frightening there the cover of darkness would give Meleana the element of surprise.

Compared to the last mountain she'd been on this one was quite pleasant. The north path was just that, a path that lead north. So in spite of the growing number of animal carcasses tied to trees Meleana was in high spirits. There was no snow, or ice, just the cold night air blowing gently through the trees. Meleana was just starting to enjoy her walk when a blaster turret began firing at her. She rolled off to the side behind a tree and looked for the source of the fire. She activated her lightsaber and deflected a blast back into the turret. There was a small explosion as the blast hit.

Meleana decided to follow the path from the trees to avoid any other security devices. Up ahead the path ended at the face of the mountain. She scanned the area for traps before jumping down. All of that security had to have been for something. She looked carefully at the face of the mountain, everything seemed normal. She shut her eyes and reached out with the force. She felt a hole in the icy stone. With her eyes closed she walked towards it. She stuck her hand out and felt more cool stone. Further inspection revealed a seam. It was a door. She used the force to slowly slide it open to avoid making a sound. She opened it just enough to squeeze through.

She found herself in a dark tunnel. Screams echoed down the cavern from some far off location. She started slowly down the tunnel and stopped suddenly. A warning from the force caused her to stop in her tracks. There was no floor in front of her. She activated her lightsaber to get a better look at the size of the chasm. It was long, but she should be able to force jump it. She flew through the air and grabbed the edge of the path on the other side. To her great dismay the path fell away.

_Obi-Wan's going to love this, _she thought to her self as she fell into blackness. She gathered the force to land softly at the bottom. As soon as she'd gotten back to her feet strong hands wrapped around her and she felt the sting of a Vibroblade against her neck.

"Who are you and what are you doing down here?" A hoarse male voice asked.

Meleana paused, saying she was a Jedi could result in instant decapitation, but she hadn't thought of an alias. "Would you believe I wanted to see if a friend would catch me?" she said in a light voice. At least it would give her some time to think.

"I'm not asking again."

"My name is Meleana Ariadne. I'm a lost tourist." As soon as she said her name she was released, the vibroblade went away, and the man's arms wrapped around her to hug her.

"Why are you in a pit!" Rendain said crushing her face against his chest.

"I'm looking for Ketana. Why are you in a pit?" Meleana asked wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm trying to stop a slaver. Ketana isn't down here."

"But you are!" Meleana tightened her arms around him. "I missed you! It's like you were sucked into a black hole."

"Almost. I'm sorry. I meant to contact you, but I was so far out in the galaxy half the time I couldn't. I was too embarrassed that I'd been ignoring you to contact you the other half of the time. Where's Ari?"

Meleana's mood plummeted. When she didn't answer Rendain pushed her away to look at her. Even in the darkness he could see the shine of tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Meleana said trying to keep her emotions at bay.

His mouth dropped. "When? How?" He asked after a minute of stunned silence.

"A few moths ago. He was killed in battle." Meleana said softly. Rendain let her go and took a seat back against the wall in the darkness. He lowered his head in silence.

"Do you have a cable launcher?" He asked a few minutes later as though nothing had happened.

"You didn't bring one?" Meleana tried to keep her voice light.

"No," he snapped. "Do you have one or not?" It wasn't like him to yell, particularly not at Meleana.

"Yes I have one," she pulled her cable launcher off her belt. "I'll toss it back down to you." She made it back to the top and tossed the cable launcher down. "Was Ketana here tracking the slaver?" She asked when he had made it up.

"Yes, and she nearly caught him too." Rendain started to walk back down the dark tunnel.

"So why didn't she?" Meleana was getting tired of prying information out of people. It seemed obvious enough to her that she would want to hear the rest of the story.

"We shouldn't be talking about this right now. I'll tell you everything later."

Meleana got the impression from his tone that he wasn't in the mood to talk to her about anything. She followed him in silence down the hall. He obviously had a better idea of the situation than she did. More than anything she wanted to know what had kept Ketana from completing her mission. The tunnel ended with locked door. Rendain punched in the code and it opened. She wanted to ask him how he'd gotten the code, but he turned and hushed her before she could.

They walked into a dimly lit room. It was sparsely furnished with only a table and a few chairs. There were three other doors all but one was bolted shut.

"Take care of the slavers," Rendain's voice was no more than a whisper as he pointed to the unlocked door. "I'm going to try to get everyone else out of here."

"What about the pit?"

"There's got to be another way out of here."

Meleana arched her brown. "Why would they have such high security on one entrance if there were two?"

Rendain walked over to a security console along the far wall. "I can take care of the pit." he said hacking into the console with ease.

Meleana moved to the unlocked door and pressed her ear against it. Inside was quiet. She opened the door a crack to peer into the room. It was dark, whoever was in there was probably sleeping. She stepped inside without a sound and shut the door.

There were four beds, three of which were occupied. Meleana's plan was to disarm them before they had a chance to wake up. She walked silently into the center of the room and crouched down to pick up a utility belt with a blaster holstered on it. The loud buzz of Meleana's holotransmitter filled the room. Within seconds the men were awake, their blasters pointed at her. Meleana activated her lightsaber before any of them had a chance to ask who she was. She sliced the end off the blaster in front of her and spun on the ball of her foot to slash at the two behind her. She got to her feet and stepped back towards the door. The glow of her purple blade was the only source of light in the small room.

"We're going to wait here for a minute," Meleana said. Anyone have any objections?" The men shook their heads. "Good."

Rendain and Meleana turned both the slaves and the slavers over to the Corellian authorities and made their way back to the inn. Though the sun was rising on a new day the same inn keeper was still behind the counter.

Meleana ordered herself and Rendain a drink as they sat down. "Are you going to tell me where Ketana is now?"

"I never said I knew where she was," he nodded at the inn keeper as he set down his drink. "She was here. She got a bit of a surprise when she went to handle the slavers, one I'll let her decide whether or not she'll share with you. She decided to go straight for the heart of the operation rather than take care of the people who needed her here."

"And what were you doing here?" Meleana took a long sip of her drink.

"I was looking for a friend. He borrowed money from the wrong people and couldn't pay it back." Rendain frowned. "Looks like I'll have to keep looking."

Meleana pulled her holotransmitter out of her belt pouch. "Maybe Ketana has a lead on him." She played back the message that had been left. It was fragmented there was too much static to understand anything. All she could tell was the Ketana was not on Corellia anymore, and that she was in trouble. "She should have known better than to try and go after the slavers on her own. Anyone trading slaves this deep in the core wasn't the kind of person you'd go after on your own." Meleana was genuinely upset with her friend, who generally followed the rules without question, for doing something so stupid without the Jedi supporting her.

Rendain took the holotransmitter from her delicately and attached it to his datapad. "I can track the transmission. We'll find her."

"You need to tell me why she did this. I'm not going after her on a suicide mission without a good reason."

Rendain looked up into Meleana's determined amethyst eyes. "One of the slavers was her sister. Her _twin_ sister. I guess things at home didn't work out very well for her. I think Ketana felt obligated to help her. She finally talked her sister into joining her side, but she was terrified her boss would come down on her. So Ketana decided to take off and try to handle the boss."

"Wonderful," Meleana rubbed her temples.

"She's on Roon," he said. "Why don't you dock your ship inside mine? We can catch up on the way."

They were both exhausted, but after not speaking for four years neither of them wanted to go to bed. They spent the first few hours in hyperspace catching up on each others lives.

"So what did you do on your first mission as a Jedi Knight?" Rendain asked. He'd gotten the idea that her stories were nearing the end of his father's life, and he didn't want to hear about it. There was a flicker of a look on Meleana's face, before she started telling her tale, that intrigued him.

Meleana stopped and laughed at the look on Rendain's face. "What?"

"What was that look about?" Rendain asked teasingly, knowing exactly what a look like that meant.

Meleana bit her lip nervously. "What look?"

"That, oh he wants me to talk about that, I can't talk about that, look."'

"You can accurately pinpoint that look on my face?"

"Don't change the subject. I want to hear the part of the story you don't want to tell me." He gave her a smug smile. He'd caught her in a way only he could.

Meleana did not like being put on the spot and she knew just how to punish him. She'd tell him the truth as bluntly as possible. "I had sex with my last mission partner. We had lots of wild sweaty crazy sex. It was great. Is that what you wanted to know? Should I get a little more graphic?" Her eyes smiled wickedly at him.

"I hate you," he said flatly.

"You asked for it," she said with a laugh.

Rendain tried to think of a way to make her feel as uncomfortable as he did. "Do you have feelings for him?" He asked.

"No," Meleana said without thought.

"That was a little fast. You know people usually answer too quickly when they're lying."

Meleana shrugged slightly. The truth was she wasn't sure. She hadn't thought she did, but she'd found her thoughts kept returning to Obi-Wan. "You're right. We're madly in love and I'm carrying his child. We're leaving the order and buying a house on the beach."

"Now you're deflecting? That's mature."

Meleana toyed with her hands. "We're friends I guess, casual friends."

"If that's what you need to believe. Tell me about him."

Meleana sighed. "Why? I don't think he'll go for you."

"Just humor me," Rendain said with a smile. His dark red eyes twinkled at her.

"Fine," she wasn't going to let him win. "He's your age, handsome. He's got this adorable cleft chin and a huge…"

"Alright you win," Rendain cut her off. "We can talk about something else."

"Could you pin point where on Roon Ketana was?"

Rendain shook his head. "Not exactly. She's on the dark side of the planet, somewhere in the north east."

"Do you have any knowledge of the slave trade there?"

Rendain shook his head. "I'm not familiar with the planet."

Meleana looked up at the ceiling lost in thought. She didn't have any experience with slavers, only what she'd learned from other Jedi at the temple. Rendain said something, but she didn't hear him.

"You still do that?"

"Huh?" Meleana said looking to him.

"You still zone out. I figured you'd grow out of that."

Meleana shrugged and looked back up at the ceiling. "It helps me think." Ketana must have been captured or she would have tried to make contact again. If she was still alive the slavers would likely sell her and her sister. "We could pose as buyers." She suggested.

Rendain nodded. "That could work. Not that I've ever tried to buy a slave, but I think its one of those friend of a friend things."

"The slave traders on Corellia had nothing to offer," Meleana frowned. "What about a seller? What if one of us just happened upon a slave and was looking to unload them?"

"That could work. It would gain us a little trust at least."

"So who's going to be the slave?"

"You," he said plainly. "I'm much bigger than you. It will be easier for people to believe that I could over power you."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "You can't."

"Yes, but we are not going to tell people that you are a Jedi and therefore quite capable of subduing me." He gave her a sly smile. "And, for reasons I will not tell you, I happen to have a slave dancer's costume that will fit you."

Meleana scrunched her brow. "That's so disturbing… Is it clean?"

"Yes it's clean." he said with a smile. "We'll be there soon. I'll get it for you. See if you can use your Jedi skills to hone in on Ketana."

Meleana took a deep breath. "Right," she said uncomfortably. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on Ketana.

"Slave dancer?" She yelled after him. "Really?"

Meleana joined Rendain in the control room. He was navigating the asteroid field that covered the space around Roon.

Meleana pulled up the planet on the nav screen and focused in on a corner of the world. "Land here."

"What's there?"

Meleana read the screen. "Nothing, not as far as the records show at least. Roon isn't a very well documented world."

"Really? Who wouldn't want to go to a planet inside the cloak of the Sith? What doesn't sound great about that?" Rendain was an excellent pilot. Had he not been there would be no way he'd be able to engage in any type of conversation while navigating the large ship through the treacherous asteroids. "Are you dressed yet?" He didn't look away from the view screen.

"I thought that was a joke."

"I put the costume on the table right in front of you."

"I thought that was a hallucination."

"Our lives are literally in my hands, are you messing with me?"

"Yes I'm dressed in my disturbing little costume."

"Should I take a holo for… what was his name?" He let out a sigh of relief as they entered the atmosphere of the planet and checked the coordinates Meleana had given him.

"No. If you try to take a holo for anyone I will beat you senseless."

Rendain gave her a wicked grin. "Would I do a thing like that? I was only thinking of your friend and all the lonely nights he has to endure."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "You're such a pervert."

Rendain ignored her and scanned the ground for any signs of a settlement.

"There," Meleana pointed out the view screen.

Rendain followed her finger but didn't see anything until they were much closer to the small settlement. He landed the ship on the outskirts.

"I was thinking, it doesn't make sense to pose as a seller. We'll only end up getting split up," Meleana said. "You're just looking for a new supplier. It makes more sense. If Ketana couldn't get herself out of whatever trouble she got into there is no way I'll be able to do it alone."

"You're far more talented than Ketana," Rendain said. "But I agree, getting split up is the last thing we need." They made there way out of the ship and onto the dark surface of Roon. "It doesn't look like we'll have to look far. This place isn't that big. If she's here we'll find some sign of her." he said as they walked into the settlement. The dark streets were empty of life. A few droids stood guard throughout the settlement. The only sign of life was the sound of music coming from the cantina in the center of town.

"Please order me a strong drink," Meleana said softly as they walked inside.

The dark cantina was buzzing with life. Everyone there had at least two slaves tending to them. There were twi'lek and human dancers on platforms scattered throughout the room. Rendain found an empty seat at the bar and Meleana stood behind him. She looked around at the other slaves. They were all tending to their Masters, massaging them, giving them drinks, lifting food to their mouths. Others were doing things she wouldn't even consider trying on Rendain. _Obi-Wan on the other hand,_ she thought to herself.

Rendain ordered himself a drink and passed a shot glass back to her. She downed it and handed it back quickly. He looked around at the other patrons in the cantina. Most were male, though there were a few females in the group.

Meleana placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it gently. "To your left three tables down against the wall." she whispered into his ear. "The girls look nervous. I'll bet they were just recently purchased. Go make friends."

Rendain waived the bartender over. "Send a round of whatever that table is drinking," he pointed to the table Meleana had pointed out. "With my compliments to their choice in company."

The men at the table looked over at Rendain when the server brought them their drinks. One of the slaves was sent over to them.

"My Master wishes to thank you for the drinks. He invites you to join us."

Rendain had to stop himself from thanking the young woman. He stood and followed the slave back to her table. He took the seat vacated by the young woman and motioned for Meleana to sit in his lap. Meleana sat down sideways and he wrapped an arm around her hip.

"You have excellent taste," Rendain said eying one of the slaves at the table. "I thought I did. Unfortunately my last batch of girls proved me wrong."

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this one," A human male said running his hand down Meleana's shoulder.

"She learned to behave after seeing the fate of the last two." Rendain looked at her and gave her a smile he ordinarily would never dream of giving her. "I'm a little embarrassed to ask, but after the behavior of my last two girls I'm in the market for a new supplier. I was told I might find one here."

Meleana could see the door perfectly from where she was sitting. Up until now no one had gone in or out of the cantina. The doors opened and a man walked in alone. His head was turned away from her. When he turned to scan the bar Meleana instantly recognized him as the man who'd killed her Master. She buried her face into Rendain's neck as casually as she could. He brushed her hair comfortingly. He could sense the sudden tension that had built in her.

Meleana closed her eyes and tried to tune out everyone else in the cantina. The voices at the table faded first, then the din from the rest of the cantina. Finally the bounty hunter's voice was the only one she heard.

"Your information was bad," he said in a harsh voice. "You said you found my girl. Do you know what I found instead?" he paused briefly. Meleana couldn't hear the person he was talking to. "I found a blasted Jedi!" Again there was a pause. "Don't you think I would have mentioned the small fact of her being a Jedi if I had been looking for a Jedi!" His voice rose every time he said the word 'Jedi'. "I don't care if they look alike! The lack of a lightsaber on my girl is one very big difference!"

There was a long pause after that. Meleana imagined the other party was trying to explain themselves.

"Had it been anyone else I would be dead and you would be safe, but I am not just anyone. Now I have until that Jedi wakes up and the slavers notice the difference to find the real bounty before they come down on me! My line of work is all word of mouth! I can't have unhappy clients!"

Meleana breathed a sigh of relief, Ketana was alive. She opened her eyes, the bounty hunter had been silent for too long. She looked up and saw a man on the floor, a knife stuck out of his chest. A crowd was just beginning to gather around him as the bounty hunter slipped out.

The rest of their table got up to inspect the remains. Meleana looked up at Rendain. "Did you get what we needed?"

He nodded. "Mind telling me what happened to you."

"No," Meleana said getting up. "It will only distract you." She took a deep breath. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts at once. Should she contact the temple and ask for help? Should she go after Ketana now with no regard for her sister? Should she try to track the bounty hunter and see where he led her? "I can't do this," she said in a panicked tone. "I can't do this alone I can't."

Rendain stood up and grabbed her arms firmly. "Yes you can. You never listened to Ari anyway. What changed?"

"I just need a minute," even as the words escaped her lips she knew it was a minute she couldn't have. She needed to make a choice quickly. Ketana's life depended on it. There was no harm in contacting the temple and asking for help. She and Rendain wouldn't be able to take on the bounty hunter alone. Rendain was an excellent healer, but he was useless in a fight. Only in the best case scenario did Meleana think she could accomplish this mission on her own. She'd have to get to Ketana before the bounty hunter. Ketana likely wouldn't leave without her sister. In a perfect world she would be hidden somewhere safe. Meleana highly doubted that the events would play out that way.

Whatever the case may be, she needed to get to Ketana immediately. "We should go. Take me to the salvers. I'll contact the council on the way."

"Do you have your lightsaber?" Rendain asked afraid of the answer.

"Yes it's strapped to my thigh under this little flap thing." Meleana waved her skirt. "Let's go."

Meleana's brief conversation with the council was finished before they reached the slavers compound. Rendain dropped a name to the guard at the door and they were allowed in. The council hadn't immediately agreed or disagreed to sending aid, which left Meleana exactly where she'd started.

They were brought into a reception room and told to wait.

"If we can't find her I need you to find a way to leave me here." Meleana said in a hushed tone when they were left alone in the reception room

"So we have two captured Jedi instead of one? That doesn't sound like a good plan."

"Just do what I ask. I've got my comlink. I'll contact you if anything goes wrong. Just go back to the ship and wait for me there."

Rendain had not time to argue. A human male dressed all in black joined them in the reception room.

"Welcome," The man said without acknowledging Meleana. "I'm Jarvice Sinn."

Rendain bowed. "You'll forgive me if I don't introduce myself."

"Of course, privacy is valued by all of our clients." He motioned towards the sitting area as two twi'leks walked in with refreshments. "How exactly did you hear about us?"

"Through a friend." Rendain said without thought.

"And what was this friends name?"

"His name?"

"Forgive me, but we have had to increase our security as of late." Jarvice smiled. "His name?"

Meleana focused on the man's mind. "You don't need to know his name. You will allow us access," she said with a wave of her hand. The twi'lek slaves looked at Meleana in a stunned silence.

"His name doesn't matter," Jarvice repeated. "I'll bring you right in."

Rendain smiled at Jarvice trying to conceal his nervousness. He wasn't a Jedi, the only training he'd had was what he'd picked up from watching his father, and like most teenage boys he'd never been very interested in what his father was doing.

They were lead into the first room of the long facility. Slaves of different genders and species were spread throughout the room. Rendain assumed this was the display they used to determine the customer's type.

"Have a look," Jarvice said extending his arm. "Let me know if you see anything you like."

Rendain walked around the room he stopped and inspected a few of the slaves to keep from raising suspicion. "I'm looking for something… a bit fresher. These all look like they've seen better days."

Meleana arched her brow, there had to have been a better way to word that.

"Of course. Follow me." Jarvice brought them to another room at the end of a long hallway. He unlocked the door.

They were ushered into a room full of slaves all under the age of twelve. It took all of Meleana's control to keep from strangling Jarvice.

Rendain made no attempt to hide his disgust. "What sort of a man do you think I am? I asked you for something less ragged, not something I'd have to train to use the toilet!" He grabbed Meleana roughly by the arm and jerked her towards him. "Do you have any girls that look like this? Ones that don't look as though they're straight from the den of a Hutt?"

Jarvice was clearly startled by Rendain's outburst. "I'm sorry to have offended you. I'm sure we have something to fit your tastes." They were brought into a room of human females.

Rendain searched the room carefully. Ketana wasn't among any of the girls there. "Is this all you have?"

"Yes." Jarvice was confused by the question. The room had more than twenty slaves. It seemed odd that none of the women had caught his eye. "We have other species if you're not interested in these."

Rendain shook his head. "I just like to make sure I haven't missed anything." He looked at Meleana then at one of the slaves. "I'm interested in this one, but after my experience with my last girls I'm wary of spending my money on something untested."

"We have private rooms-"

Rendain cut him off. "That isn't what I'm worried about. Allow me to trade my girl for yours. If she is well behaved I will come back before the end of the week, pay for her and pick up mine. If not I'll return her."

"We don't typically allow-"

Again Rendain cut him off. "I think it's the least you can do after your offense. It's not as though you have anything to lose. If I take off with your girl you'll still have mine."

Jarvice furrowed his brow and eyed Meleana. "I'll give you three days, but you have to understand I can't have this cost me any business. Should someone be interested in your slave…"

"That's fine, as long as I am properly compensated." Rendain led the slave girl out of the room. "I will contact you."

Meleana sat down on the long couch against the wall and looked at the floor. Jarvice seemed satisfied that she would behave herself and left the slaves alone in the locked room. Meleana looked around, there was a small vent that she may or may not be able to fit through.

"Are we ever allowed out of this room?" Meleana asked one of the other slaves.

The young woman shrugged. "Sometimes we are taken to the cantina to dance. We have a shower once a day."

Meleana looked back at the vent. Waiting to get out during the group shower would likely be easier than trying to fit through the tight space. Cutting through the door was too obvious. She didn't want alarms going off before she had a chance to fully explore the facility. Ketana was likely being held somewhere else, assuming the slavers hadn't killed her. "When do we shower?"

"Soon," The slave said with another shrug.

Showering left Meleana with another problem. If she couldn't break away from the group in time it would be difficult to conceal her lightsaber and comlink. It was hard enough keeping them covered in her skimpy outfit. It seemed like it was a chance she'd need to take. There were enough girls, if one was missing they wouldn't notice.

She lay back on the couch and shut her eyes. There was nothing she could do for the time being but wait, and it seemed a good time to catch up on some much needed sleep.

One of the other slaves woke her a few hours later. The other slaves were moving towards the door. Meleana thanked the girl who'd woken her. She moved into the crowed. The group was relatively unguarded. There was one man in the front and one in the back of the line of slaves. All the rooms were emptied at the same time. Two men could hardly keep track of so many people. Meleana ducked around the next corner. She used the force to conceal her as she raced away from the crowd. She waited until she was sure they were gone to pull out her comlink.

"I need you to pull up a schematic of this place," she said to Rendain the second he answered.

"I don't even know if there is a schematic."

"They built the place, they had to use something to do it. Things don't build themselves." She looked around the hall. It was clear for now. "Did you get it?"

"Just a minute, I'm not a droid."

Meleana kept an eye on both ends of the hall while she waited. "I need you to look for a secure area. Someplace they might keep prisoners."

"I'm working on it."

"Work quickly."

"That's only going to make this take longer." He pin pointed a few possible areas that could be used to hold a prisoner. One was close to the exit, which made it an unlikely choice. "I've got two possibilities for you."

"Give me the one that's nearest to the room you left me in first."

"Go straight down the hall to the turbolift, take it down a level. Go to your left follow the hall until it dead ends and make a right… it's the third door on the right."

"I'll contact you if I need directions to the other room." Meleana slid her comlink back into the band around her thigh. She started quickly down the hall. They were empty for now. Her biggest worry was getting off the turbolift. Getting on was simple, but anything could be on the other side of the door on her way down. She hid herself in the lift as the doors opened. She didn't sense anyone on the other side.

She followed Rendain's directions. The door looked the same as all the others in the building. They were all durasteel with coded door locks. If Meleana thrust her lightsaber through the door and Ketana wasn't inside the slavers would be on alert. They'd be looking for a Jedi and she'd be the most likely suspect. That would put both her and Rendain in danger.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A well dressed human male answered, he looked a little surprised to see her.

Meleana bowed her head and didn't make eye contact. "I was told to see if you needed anything." Meleana looked into the room as subtly as she could. It was an office, not a holding cell.

"Who sent you?"

"Jarvice."

The man nodded. "You're services are not required now. Have him send down one of the twi'leks in an hour or so."

Meleana bowed. "Yes sir."

She turned and walked back towards the lift. She picked up her comlink when she was around the corner. "Where's the other room?" A door closed down the hall and she quickly tucked her comlink away. "Do you need something sir?" The man she'd been talking too had followed her down the hall.

"I have a guest coming. I'll need you to entertain them." He continued walking, expecting her to follow him.

How was she going to entertain guests with a lightsaber strapped to her leg? She was brought to a private receiving room.

"Straighten yourself up." The man pointed to a door in the corner of the room. "You'll be serving refreshments unless otherwise requested."

Meleana bowed and hurried into the small washroom. The vanity inside was stocked with makeup and jewelry. Meleana heard the door to the receiving room open. She instantly recognized the voice of the bounty hunter, Genesis, the slaver had called him.

Meleana panicked and started slathering on makeup. She searched the vanity for something to hide her face. She breathed a sigh of relief when her hand touched a veil. She tied it around the bottom portion of her face and made sure her eyes had enough makeup to be unrecognizable. She paused, if her lightsaber was discovered she was finished, but she didn't feel safe without it.

She walked into the receiving room with her hair in her face and picked up the carafe on the table. She filled a glass for both of the men and set it down. She stood behind Genesis and listened.

"What is it you wanted to see me about?" The slaver asked.

"I'm afraid I made a mistake. The woman I brought you earlier is not the bounty you asked for. I was hoping to remedy this, but I've been unable to locate the target."

"The woman you brought me looks exactly like our former employee."

Genesis nodded. "I realize that, but there is one huge difference. The woman you have is a Jedi. I've taken care of the situation. In addition to finding you the girl you asked for, I've found a buyer for your Jedi."

"Who would want to buy a Jedi?" The slaver asked with a laugh.

He shrugged. "I didn't question their reasoning. They'll pay well for her. Normally I would request a larger percentage, but given my blunder I'll accept twenty."

The slaver milled over the idea. "How soon can she be transported?"

"There are a few issues to work out. I'll take care of it and bring back the contracts along with all the details to you. The documentation will be for a shipment of ore."

The slavers comlink began to buzz. "You'll be in touch?" He asked Genesis. The bounty hunter nodded and the slaver answered his comlink.

"One of the dancers at the cantina passed out." A voice said on the other end.

Meleana looked down at the floor as Genesis walked out.

"You, tell the man at the door to escort you to the cantina." The salver barked.

Meleana bowed and walked out. She walked slowly keeping her distance from Genesis. Going to the cantina would be an excellent way to escape, but she wasn't sure she was ready to escape. She hadn't found Ketana yet, but she knew she'd be heading off planet soon. She may be able to find more information at the cantina, but she wouldn't find Ketana there. Every decision she made could be the difference between saving Ketana and losing her. She pulled out her comlink and contacted Rendain.

"I need you to send that girl to the cantina to dance," the veil muffled her voice. She pulled it off and let it fall to the floor.

"You want me to send her back into slavery?" His tone of voice told her he didn't like the idea.

"If she doesn't go they'll be looking for me. I don't like the idea either, but we aren't here to free slaves."

"_You're_ not here to free slaves."

Meleana sighed. "Do what you want, but if they start looking for me I might never find Ketana and we could both end up… I don't know. Just do what you want."

She put the comlink away. She'd forgotten to ask him for directions in her haste. She knew she could find Ketana on her own. She'd been sent to find her because the Council knew she could. She needed to stop relying on others and start taking care of things herself. She turned around and walked quickly down the hall. Ketana was somewhere in the building. Likely on the same floor as Meleana. The second floor was much smaller than the first. Large doors led to what looked like a hangar. She'd already ruled out two of the rooms on the lower level, which left only two more. It seemed unlikely that they would hold a prisoner in the room next to the receiving room. That left one door.

Meleana didn't bother knocking. She was sure Ketana was on the other side of that door. She plunged her lightsaber through the durasteel and cut a hole big enough for her to climb through. Ketana was bound and unconscious on the floor inside. Meleana ran to crouch down next to her. She lifted her into her arms and shook her gently. She tried for a few more seconds to wake her, but whatever she'd been given had knocked her out cold.

Meleana hoisted her over her shoulder and rushed down the hall. She steadied Ketana with one hand, her lightsaber was held tightly in the other. This time there was no hiding in the turbolift. Her only hope was that Genesis had already left the building. The buildings security seemed fairly relaxed. Finding the place was difficult and in the outer rim slavery was perfectly legal. Meleana's only obstacle was the guard at the door. She knew he was there and force pushed him into the back of a wall before he had the chance to spot her. She jumped over his unconscious form and hurried back to the ship.

They had landed far enough out of town that they wouldn't be noticed. At the time it had been a good idea, but while running with another person on her back a few miles seemed much longer to Meleana. When she finally reached the ship she was sweating and out of breath. She keyed in the ships entry code and set Ketana down on the floor inside. Meleana slid down the wall to sit next to her.

Meleana had just caught her breath when Ketana opened her eyes.

"Meleana?" She asked in a groggy tone. "What's going on?"

Meleana gave her a smile. "I just rescued you from the slavers."

"Just me?"

"I don't know where your sister is if that's what you're getting at. The good news is the bounty hunter that got you hasn't been able to find her"

Ketana sat up wincing. She'd taken a bad beating in her fight with Genesis. "She's on an asteroid. I left her on an escape pod."

She wanted to chastise Ketana for doing something so stupid, but, with all the things Ketana had let slide of hers over the years, it hardly seemed fair.

Ketana's eyes fluttered shut. "I don't feel so great."

Meleana helped her to her feet and led her into a room with a bed. Ketana lay down and Meleana sat beside her. "I'm going to go talk to Rendain. Will you be alright on your own?"

Ketana nodded.

Meleana searched the ship for Rendain, but there was no sign of him. Meleana cursed, after the argument they'd had she could only guess that he'd gone off to free the slaves. Her comlink buzzed and she grabbed it off her leg.

"Where the hell are you?" She shouted into it.

"I'm in orbit," Obi-Wan's voice said, "and I was just calling to ask you the same thing."

Meleana gave him the coordinates. It looked as though the Council had decided she needed help after all.

"Would you like to fill me in while I'm landing? Or is it more fun if I have no idea what we're doing?" He asked.

Meleana wasn't sure where to begin. Any number of details could lead to a long story. "It's a long story. Right now I've got one friend trying to liberate slaves who needs to be tracked down. Another is too sick to be of any use. I've got a girl on an asteroid that I apparently have to save. My personal favorite, the bounty hunter that killed my Master is in the same tiny little settlement with me."

"Hmm… Is that white ship yours?"

"I certainly hope so. I'll come outside." Meleana walked out into the eternal night just in time to see a Jedi starfighter landing a few meters away. Anakin jumped energetically out of the cockpit first followed at a slower pace by Obi-Wan.

"Master Ariadne, what are you wearing?" Anakin asked.

Meleana looked down at the slave dancer's costume. She'd been wearing it for so long she'd gotten used to it. "I was undercover." Meleana looked to Obi-Wan, he seemed to approve of her wardrobe change. "Anakin should stay here. He can watch over Ketana. It's too dangerous for him to come with us."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. "He's my Padawan. I'll be the judge of what is and is not too dangerous." Obi-Wan paused. "Anakin go inside and take care of Ketana."

Anakin did as he was told. Meleana and Obi-Wan walked at a brisk pace back towards the settlement.

"He must have gone to the cantina." Meleana said as they walked. "I would have seen him if he'd been at the slavers compound. Maybe he was waiting for me to come out… The slavers main building is the only place he could accomplish anything."

"And where's the bounty hunter?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He was going to take care of some negotiations then he was going back to the slavers," Meleana looked up at Obi-Wan. "Is it alright that I'm flipping out on the inside?"

"You seem calm to me."

"I'm trying to be."

Chaos was evident as soon as they reached the settlement. Freed slaves were pouring onto the streets. Slavers were making a futile effort to catch the slaves that greatly outnumbered them. Meleana spotted Genesis coming out of the cantina, one of his associates, a reptilian humanoid female, walked close behind him. If there was trouble with the slavers it would be costing him money, Meleana stopped walking, it took a tug from Obi-Wan to get her moving again.

"We need to find your friend. We'll avoid confrontation if we can." Obi-Wan said pushing against the flow of slaves coming out of the building. Battle droids were beginning to fill the building, shepherding the slaves back into their holding rooms.

Meleana looked at the crowd of slaves and battle droids separating her from Rendain. Meleana could feel Genesis getting close. She sensed the blaster turrets drop out of panels in the ceiling before she saw them. They began firing randomly. The slaves retreated in fear and the droids turned on the Jedi. Meleana and Obi-Wan took out two of the four turrets quickly. Their lightsabers were a flurry of motion as they blocked blaster bolts from droids and turrets.

"A slave with a lightsaber?" An amused male voice said from the door. "That seems highly unlikely."

Obi-Wan blocked a shot headed for Meleana. The man at the door had distracted her. "Take care of the droids," he said stepping between Meleana and the bounty hunters.

"Men certainly do enjoy dying for you." Genesis said ignoring Obi-Wan. He drew his vibroblade. "Do you call this one Master too?"

He charged at Obi-Wan. The other bounty hunter opened fire on him with a repeating blaster. Obi-Wan jumped out of the way of the fire and blocked a strike from the vibroblade. The sounds of blasters around him began to lessen as Meleana took out more of the droids.

Just when Meleana thought she was finished with the droids more poured out of the turbo lift. She took out the battle droids quickly, but still more came. Through the commotion she heard Rendain scream. She force pushed the droids back to get to him, he'd been hit by several blaster bolts and was unmoving on the floor. Meleana cut down the remaining droids and bent down to check him for a pulse. He was alive, but badly injured. The lift opened and a droideka rolled out. It positioned itself in front of Meleana and opened fire. She blocked its fire until the lift doors opened again. She force pushed it back into the wave of battle droids and shut the lift doors with the force. She hit the doors with another wave of the force and hoped she'd bent them out of place enough to prevent them from opening. She ran back into the reception room just in time to see Obi-Wan get shot with something in the chest. Meleana force jumped in front of him. She slashed out with her lightsaber. Genesis moved but not quickly enough to prevent the blade from slashing his skin. Meleana landed on her hands and knees in front of Obi-Wan and quickly got back up to her feet. She deflected bolts from the repeating blaster and kicked Genesis hard enough to send him flying. He landed on the other side of the room.

It was possible either side could have won the fight, but Genesis had a feeling he wouldn't be getting his bounty either way. The slavers would blame him for brining the Jedi down on them. It was time for him to leave. He got back onto his feet wincing at the pain in his ankles. He ran out the door while Ina, his partner, laid down cover fire.

Meleana let them leave. She couldn't pursue them if it cost Rendain and Obi-Wan their lives. She turned to Obi-Wan. "Can you walk?" She asked between breaths.

He nodded.

Meleana rushed back to get Rendain She lifted him over her shoulder. He was much taller than her which made carrying him awkward. She could see the droids were cutting their way through the lift doors. They needed to move fast.


	9. Chapter 9

Obi-Wan had been waiting close to half an hour for Meleana to come back. As soon as they'd gotten onto the ship she pointed to a door and told him to sit down and wait. The small room he'd been pushed into didn't have much to distract him. A bed was in the center of one wall, a small dresser sat beside it. He'd taken a seat on the floor with his back against the bed, figuring metal would be easier to clean.

The injury to his chest wasn't bleeding much, had it not been for the severe pain every time he drew in a breath he wouldn't have minded the wait. He'd thought of pulling the cartage out on his own a few times, but the idea of bleeding out on the floor seemed worse than his current agony. He'd felt the ship lift off the ground a few minutes ago, which he hoped meant Meleana was on her way.

Meleana walked in a few minutes later, still wearing her dancer's outfit, and carrying a very heft medical kit. She squatted down in front of Obi-Wan.

"Sorry about the wait," she said opening the medical kit. She shifted uncomfortably and pulled the lightsaber and comlink out of the holsters on her thigh.

"Anything else in there?" Obi-Wan ask with some amusement.

Meleana smiled, clearly holding back some remark. She straightened her face and examined his wound.

Obi-Wan watched her carefully trim his shirt away from the canister. He looked down at the bloody scraps of cloth lodged in his chest and decided he should find something to distract him. His eyes landed immediately on Meleana's cleavage.

"So, do you like my outfit?" she asked as she finished removing his shirt. "If you don't I can take it off for you."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond and let out a scream as the canister was wrenched from his chest. If she'd warned him he could have at least attempted to seem manly.

"You could have warned me," he said through gritted teeth. He shut his eyes not wanting to see the blood spurting from his chest.

Meleana's only response was to hush him while she worked quickly to treat his injury. After she'd finished poking around on his chest he felt a slight prick on his arm and the pain he was in lessened.

"You should have done that first."

"The pain killers were under the bandages."

He opened his eyes, feeling her wrapping the bandage around him, he assumed the worst was over. He gasped at the amount of blood on her half naked body.

"You alright?"

He nodded.

Meleana finished taping off Obi-Wan's bandaging, the wound was wide, but not deep, thank the force. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

"I should go check on Rendain. Don't move around, just lie down and relax. I'll bring you something to drink." Meleana said, "Do you need help getting into bed?"

She waited for him to shake his head before getting to her feet.

She stopped in the washroom to clean the blood off herself. Metal bikini's certainly were easy to clean.

Meleana walked back into the other room and found Ketana lying in bed next to Rendain. He was still unconscious, but his wounds had all been treated. Anakin was sitting at the edge of the bed with a worried look on his face.

"Is Master Obi-Wan alright?" he asked.

Meleana nodded. "He's resting. How is he?"

"He'll live. He's an abnormally fast healer," Ketana said. "Is there another room?"

Meleana nodded. "Will he be alright on his own?"

"He'll be fine. He didn't take any bad hits." Ketana got to her feet. "I'm sorry I'm so useless… did you get my sister?"

Meleana sighed and cursed. She spun around on her heel and walked back into the control room.

After picking up Ketana's sister, who Meleana had no interest in, Meleana found rooms for both Ketana and Anakin. There were only four cabins on the ship, which meant four of them would have to share with someone else.

Meleana walked back into the room where she'd left Obi-Wan with two bowls of soup and some water.

Obi-Wan gave her a look as if to say. "What took you so long?"

"I forgot Ketana's sister on an Asteroid," she gave him a slight smile. "I brought you food."

Obi-Wan sat up in bed and took the tray he was handed. "How is everyone else?"

"Fine," she said with a long sigh. "Is it me? Do I mess things up?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Don't be so hard on your self."

"I'm being realistic. I should have been helping you, not worrying about battle droids and someone I couldn't help. If I'd been in there with you, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Not necessarily, and someone had to handle the droids."

Meleana continued. "I should have known Rendain would try something like that. Hell, it's what he was doing when I found him on Correlia!"

"Who are all these friends of yours?" Obi-Wan asked trying to change the subject. If she was only going to berate herself he didn't want to hear it.

"Ketana, she's a Padawan, still she should have been able to handle that mission by her self. If she hadn't gotten tied up with her sister…" Meleana trailed off.

"I asked who they were not what they did wrong." Obi-Wan set his empty bowl aside.

"Rendain was my Masters' son, which is a long story I don't exactly know. Let's just say my Master wasn't big on listening to the council. I don't think he was the product of some great romance though. He was born on Dathomir, which hardly seems like the place for love." She stopped seeing the humorous look on Obi-Wan's face.

"What?"

"You're rambling."

"Sorry. I'm exhausted but I've got to much adrenalin going to sleep."

"Stop being sorry for everything you do," he said. "So where are you from?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Bierna, it's a system at the edge of the mid rim. What does that have to do with anything?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, I'm just trying to get you to calm down."

Meleana set down her half finished bowl of soup. "Then tell me a story about you, because nothing about my life calms me down."

"My Master wasn't much for rules either."

Meleana smiled. "Really? Then how did you turn out to be such a stick in the mud?"

"I am not a stick in the mud." Obi-Wan's offended look didn't help. Meleana giggled at him. "I left the Jedi when I was a Padawan to fight a war."

Meleana pursed her lips. "Were you on the side that was breaking the rules or following the rules?"

"Breaking the rules."

"Alright, so you had your rebellious phase. How long did that last? Being Obi-Wan Kenobi child soldier?"

"Not very long," he said. "I had other moments of rule breaking. I wouldn't call it rebellion. I wasn't doing anything simply for the sake of defiance. I did it because it felt right."

"Did you skip meditation once?" Meleana smiled, she had missed him, as much as she hated to admit it. She'd purposely given Anakin his own room, food, and a datapad to keep him busy just so she could be alone with Obi-Wan.

"I fell in love."

"With the blonde?" Meleana asked remembering the conversation they'd had on the mountain.

"With the blonde." The twinkle that had returned to Meleana's eyes kept him from mourning his lost love in that moment.

"You're right," Meleana said giving him a thoughtful stare. "You didn't have a rebellious phase. You broke the big rules. Rebels don't push the envelope that far. My rebellious phase wasn't nearly so bad."

"You are a rebellious phase," he said teasingly.

"At least I'm not boring," Meleana yawned at him.

He raised his brow. "Here I am pouring my heart out and you're teasing me."

"Pouring your heart out with one sentence answers?" Meleana shook her head. "Dripping your heart out, maybe."

Obi-Wan looked her in the eye for a moment. "Admit it, you missed me."

"Maybe a little," she was struck by the strong desire to kiss him. "What about you?"

He sat up and moved the trays off the bed. "I do like your outfit." he said answering her earlier question.

She moved closer to him. "That wasn't what I asked."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips. "Yes," he said softly.

Meleana put a knee on either side of him and moved closer allowing him to rest his back against the headboard. She kissed his chin, cheeks and lips. "We shouldn't keep doing this."

"I know." He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed her in.

"It's purely physical though. Right? We don't have any real feelings for each other. Do we?"

The fact that she had to ask told him the answer. "Completely based on sexual compatibility," he gave her the answer she wanted, but not what he believed. He didn't love her, but he felt something creeping up on him slowly, a desire for her that went beyond the physical. He kissed her snaking his tongue around hers. His hands rested on her round hips. He moved his hand down as the kiss deepened. "I want you," he moaned breaking the kiss.

"What about your chest?" She asked.

He groaned unhappily. The pain killers had made him forget about the gaping wound he'd sustained.

Meleana kissed him. "That bounty hunter has spoiled enough for me. I'm not going to let him shoot you _and_ ruin your fun." She kissed him again pulling his lip with her teeth as she moved down his body.

Meleana smiled at him as he opened his eyes. He had a look in his eyes she'd never seen before. He gave her a languid smile and moved his body closer to hers. She ran her hand gently over his bandaged chest, small spots of blood had soaked through. She grabbed a wipe from the med kit and gently cleaned the blood off his sweat slicked skin.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Obi-Wan moaned thoughtfully. "I'm already feeling a little guilty. I'm not the only one that had a hard day."

Meleana kissed him. "That's very sweet, but I'm sure you'll make it up to me when you're in better shape," she kissed his neck and traced gentle circles around his stomach with her thumb. "Besides, do you think you're ever going to get me in this outfit again?"

"You look like you need some sleep." He cupped her face in his hand. "And as much as I like it, that doesn't look comfortable."

She unhooked the metal bikini and tossed it to the floor. It hit the durasteel with a loud thud. Obi-Wan motioned for her to come to him and she straddled his thighs.

He traced the curves over her body with on hand and kissed her.

"Promise me you won't change your mind about letting me make it up to you?" She nodded and he smiled, "And you'll wear that outfit again?"

"So you're into slaves?" Meleana asked with a raised brow.

Obi-Wan gave her a devious look. "In your case, yes."

Meleana swallowed hard, "I think we should get to sleep before I do something that will make your injuries worse."

"I think you're right."

She curled up on her side against him and shut her eyes.

Since she was a small child she'd never felt safe at night. She always worried someone was under the bed, hiding in a dark corner waiting for her outside her window. She rarely had a sound sleep, in the back of her mind she was always afraid that something would get her. Something was watching her just waiting for her to let her guard down. With Obi-Wan's arm wrapped tightly around her she felt safe. She could relax and let her guard down. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and quickly fell asleep.

The Council wasn't pleased with what they had to say. Ketana and Meleana were the only ones asked to report on their mission. For once it was Ketana, and not Meleana in trouble. The council dismissed Meleana as soon as she had made her report.

Meleana finally knew how Ketana felt every time she was in trouble. She was glad it wasn't her, but felt guilty that there was nothing she could do to aid her friend. Meleana's datapad buzzed, signaling a new message. She plucked it off her belt and read the message.

She had a new mission. A shipment of medical supplies had been stolen from a public hospital on Coruscant. It seemed more like a job for the planetary authorities, but she wasn't going to argue over an on planet mission.

Ordinarily Meleana would start by interviewing hospital personnel, but the information she'd been given clearly stated that they were off limits and only their recorded statements to planetary security would be available to the Jedi. The freighter that was carrying the supplies had been manned only by droids. It had been carrying a number of medications. Among them were several forms of narcotic pain medications.

Meleana reviewed the statements from the hospital employees on her way through the temple halls. None of them seemed remotely guilty or capable of pulling off such a heist. Money was the obvious motive. Health care was too readily available on Coruscant for the medication to have been stolen out of desperation. There was no point to be made by stealing this particular freighter, unless you were looking to earn a security contract with the hospital. There wasn't much money in the security contracts, which ruled out business motives. Piracy wasn't prevalent on Coruscant. That left Meleana with drug dealers and smugglers.

The more she thought about the mission, the less it seemed like a task for a Jedi. Her nights out on the streets of Coruscant had taken her to many places. Though she favored the upper levels she had occasionally ventured to the lower levels of Coruscant. She remembered one club had a particularly high volume of patrons conducting illegal business.

She headed back to her ship. When working with drug dealers looking like a Jedi could work for you or against you. If Meleana needed to flaunt her status she could always flash her lightsaber. She put on a long leather coat. It would conceal her lightsaber and help her blend in with the civilians.

She rode her speeder bike through the busy streets. She remembered the general location of the club and it didn't take her long to find it. She left the bike in a near by alley.

It was mid-afternoon, not that any of the club goers were aware of that. It was just as full as it would be in the middle of the night. Most of the club's inhabitants didn't seem aware of their surroundings.

Meleana took a seat at an empty table. Her missions had brought her to an unusual number of bars as of late. She wasn't familiar enough with the underworld of Coruscant to immediately spot the dealers. Everyone in the club appeared to be on something. Eavesdropping on the conversations only made matters worse, Meleana swore just listening was making her stupider. She was about to get up to speak with one of the clubs dealers when a man sat down at the table across from her.

"Are you looking for something?" He asked in a voice clearer than those of the other patrons. He didn't look like he belonged on this level of the city, much less in a place like this. He was well dressed and well groomed. He had thick dark hair and deep brown eyes to match.

Meleana supposed he could be a dealer for the upper levels working down here until the high society was done with work and ready to play. "That depends what you've got." Suddenly Meleana wished she'd had more practice scoring drugs. Some how she didn't think she quiet fit the profile.

A server droid set down two drinks in front of them. "I thought you might like a drink," he said in a smooth voice.

Meleana arched her brow, maybe he was part of the high society looking to live dangerously. It would make sense that he'd choose to hit on her over the other drugged up regulars. She needed to get rid of him, telling him she was working wouldn't do any good, he might just toss a bag of credits on the table. "I'm waiting for someone."

His eyes narrowed, he knew she was lying. "You're not waiting for anyone Meleana and the mission your on isn't a mission."

Meleana tried not to show the tension on her face. "Excuse me?" she said in an offended tone. She wasn't quite sure what else to say.

"I'm sorry for my deception, but I had to be sure you'd meet me."

Meleana took a sip of her drink. "You don't look like a bounty hunter," she stated. He was unarmed and she didn't sense any danger from him.

"I'm not a bounty hunter, and I'm not here to hurt you. We have a mutual friend who's concerned about your well being."

"And that friends name is?"

"I can't say."

"You mean you won't say," Meleana finished her drink in one long gulp. "Thanks for the drink, but I don't take well to being manipulated." Meleana got up and walked quickly out of the club.

The man ran out after her. "It's important that we talk."

"I don't humor stalkers," he grabbed her arm and Meleana spun on her heel to look at him. "Obviously you already know I'm a Jedi. I suggest you take your hand off me before you lose it."

"We can go somewhere you'd feel more comfortable."

"I would feel more comfortable away from you." She snapped. "Let go of my arm."

He let go of her and she took off down the street. "You're going to die," he blurted.

Meleana turned back towards him. "Are you threatening me?"

He shook his head. "That's why your friend wanted me to talk to you. I can save you, but you have to trust me."

Meleana paused briefly before making an offensive hand motion at him and continuing down the alley to her speeder bike.

Meleana docked her speeder in the cargo hold of her ship and climbed up to the main room. She was frustrated, not just by her strange encounter. She'd seen one of her best friends for the first time in years only to immediately have a disagreement that nearly got him killed. Ketana was in hot water with the Council that would probably prevent her from being knighted as soon as she deserved. She was lost and confused. She wasn't ready to be an adult and handle life on her own. She wanted her Master back. She needed someone to reassure her that she was making the right choices, that she'd done her best.

She rushed into the kitchen and pulled out all the ingredients she'd need to make her favorite kind of biscuits. Easting didn't make her feel better, but baking did. After she'd taken her aggression out on a pile of dough she'd be calm enough to meditate. She had no one she could talk to, Ketana had her own problems, she was mad at Rendain, Obi-Wan was at the med center. She could call Darlean, her non-Jedi friend, but she wouldn't understand. Meleana knew she'd offer a very heartfelt worried "sorry," and try to change the subject.

Even if things had been going perfectly, she was too full of self doubt to ever relax. She couldn't go easy on herself or anyone else for that matter. She had high standards, she'd always managed to meet them in the past. She wondered if all that had changed was the reassurance her Master gave her. He wouldn't dwell on her accomplishments, but he'd take a second to give her a "well done" or "good work." Now all she had was the voice in her head telling her she wasn't good enough.

The biscuits were done sooner than she'd have liked them to be. She moved too quickly when she was upset. She put one tray in the oven and started another. She had a history of fuming while crowds gathered to eat her over abundance of baked goods.

By the time she was done with her impromptu baking binge she was covered in flour and surrounded by biscuits. Unlike previous occasions Meleana had no one to eat the stack of biscuits. She never felt like eating when she was upset.

After she had showered she sat down on her bed to meditate.

_There was a smell of flowers in the air coupled with the sound of water lapping against the shore near by. The sunlight was warm and peaceful. There was something else, the smell and feel of fresh blood, the sound of someone running towards her, and the feeling that some incredible darkness was closing in on her._

Meleana opened her eyes with a start. Her meditation had done anything but calm her. She looked at the chronometer; it had been hours since she'd first sat down. She took a few deep breaths and tried to slow her racing pulse. Her hands were shaking. She could still feel the dark energy from her vision as though it were real.


	10. Chapter 10

-10-

Obi-Wan had spent the entirety of his day soaking in bacta. It was well past sunset by the time he'd finally been given the ok to return to his quarters. He found Meleana wandering the halls holding a box with both hands. She looked at him and smiled nervously.

"Hi. I was coming up to see how you were doing and I realized I don't know which quarters are yours. I only knew your floor. Then I thought it was so late you'd probably be sleeping, so I was just going to go back down to my ship. And now here you are, not asleep…"

"You're rambling," Obi-Wan cut her off. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought you'd like some biscuits and I made a whole bunch. And I'm feeling really on edge and I can't talk to all of my friends because I'm really good at alienating people…"

"My room is right over there," he cut her off again and pointed. "Let's go inside and you can ramble as much as you'd like."

"Right… No… I feel really stupid. I'm completely embarrassing myself. You're going to think I'm completely insane."

He placed a hand on her back and steered her into his quarters. "Sit down," he said pointing to the sleep couch.

Meleana sat down clutching the box she was carrying. "I'm usually not such an idiot."

"What's in the box?"

Meleana thrust the box towards him. "Biscuits. I bake when I'm upset."

Obi-Wan took the box from her. It seemed overly large now that he knew what it contained. He set it down on his desk. "What's bothering you?"

Meleana looked around the room avoiding eye contact. "I don't really want to talk about it. I just didn't want to be alone."

Obi-Wan grabbed a biscuit from the box. "Is your baking better than you cooking?" he asked before taking a bite.

Meleana nodded. "I understand baking. Its just chemistry, use this amount of this with this to make that. There's no guess work like in cooking. I like the structure of baking. Cooking is so haphazard."

"You want to tell me what's bothering you." He stated rather than asked while wolfing down a biscuit.

"Are you trying to use mind tricks on me?"

"No, I'm making a statement. You wouldn't have wandered the halls to find me if you didn't want to talk."

Meleana clenched her jaw and widened her eyes. "I don't know where to begin. I second guess every choice I make. I never used to do that."

"That's because there was always someone to correct or praise you before," he said finishing another biscuit. He sat down on the sleep couch next to her and wrapped an arm around her back. "I do it to. It just doesn't affect me as much."

"Why not? That doesn't seem fair." She moped.

"I have a Padawan. If I allowed myself to give in to my insecurities I wouldn't be able to train Anakin. If he senses that I am unsure about myself how can I expect him to listen to me?" He paused. "Not that he listens to me any way."

"So I have to go out and get a Padawan?" She arched her brow. "That seems ill-advised."

"No you don't _have_ to get a Padawan. You wouldn't have been made a knight if the Council didn't believe you could handle it. Your confidence is understandably shaken, but you need to move past that. Things will go wrong no matter how good you are."

"Why are you so much better at everything than me?"She sulked.

"I'm older, I've had more experience. Besides I wouldn't say I'm better than you at _everything_. You excel at all sorts of things I leave off the mission reports."

Meleana frowned. "If I died tomorrow my legacy would be 'she was great at the unmentionables'? That's not very comforting."

"Then it's a good thing you're not going to die tomorrow."

Meleana sighed and looked down at the floor. "Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked sounding like a frightened child.

"On this little sleep couch?" He kissed her cheek. "Of course. I think I remember promising to make last night up to you."

Meleana almost smiled. "I think I remember hearing something along those lines," she rested her head on his shoulder. "You smell like bacta."

"Is that a problem?" He asked with a smile.

"It makes me nauseous."

"Unfortunately it's a lingering smell. Do you want to go?"

Meleana shook her head. "There's got to be something we can do about the smell."

He held her nose and kissed her. "Does that help?"

"I swear I can taste it," she said with a giggle.

He kissed her jaw. "Now you're just being difficult. I wasn't completely submerged."

"Are you going to hold my nose all night? I could just breathe through my mouth."

He frowned. "Then I can't kiss you. I'll just hold your nose."

"Then how am I supposed to breathe?" she said with a twinkle in her eye. He pinched her nose again and kissed her.

"You don't need to breathe," he said kissing her again. "I'll go take another shower," he moved his arm off of her and gave her a long wet kiss. "Wait here."

Meleana made her self comfortable on the sleep couch and watched him walk out with a smile. She wasn't the type to snoop around, but always felt tempted to do so. Superficially his room was like any other in the Jedi temple. There weren't many personal items lying around. A rock and a datapad were next to the box of biscuits on the desk. Meleana mused over the rock for a moment. She'd have to remember to ask Obi-Wan about it.

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later. Meleana assumed Obi-Wan had locked himself out and went to answer it. She was surprised to see Anakin on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" He asked walking underneath her arm to come inside.

"I was waiting for Master Kenobi," Meleana shut the door behind him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Anakin shrugged. "I guess. Have you ever seen a pod race?" Meleana shook her head and Anakin went on. "I was thinking about pod racing. I won the Bonta eve race you know. I mean, I like being a Jedi and all but…"

Meleana leaned against the door and tuned Anakin out. One of her many reasons for not having a Padawan was her dislike of children's banter.

"Hey!' Anakin almost shouted, jarring Meleana back to reality. "You could take me out of the temple. I'm sure Master Obi-Wan wouldn't mind. I like the temple, it's just, I haven't been able to go anywhere since Master Obi-Wan started training me."

Meleana arched her brow. "I don't think he'd approve of you being awake at this hour, never mind leaving the temple. You should get back to your bed."

"So what were you two doing anyway? Can I stay?"

"Master Kenobi was going to help me go over some mission reports. And I really think you should get to bed before he gets back." Meleana sighed when Anakin continued to jabber. She was visibly relieved when Obi-Wan walked back in.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan scolded. "What are you doing in here? Get to bed."

"But Master…."

"No excuses," Obi-Wan held the door open. "Go on, and I'd better not hear that you've wandered the halls all night. Get straight to bed."

Anakin sighed sadly. "Alright," he started to walk out. "It was nice talking to you," he said ducking his head back in to look at Meleana.

Obi-Wan closed and locked the door. "Did he talk your ear off?"

Meleana nodded. "What exactly was he chosen for again? Was it specifically to give me a headache?"

Obi-Wan laughed. "I thought that was my calling?"

Meleana gave him a mischievous grin. "So what's with the rock?" She asked changing the subject.

He walked over to the desk and picked up the rock. "My Master gave it to me for my birthday."

Meleana winced. "Ouch. He gave you a rock?"

"Don't tease my rock! I'm quiet attached to my rock," he put the rock in her hand. "It's a force sensitive rock. It helps me relax."

Meleana wrapped her hand around the rock. "Well I guess I'll just have to take this rock from you. Attachment _is_ forbidden."

"Give it back," he said as he tried to pry the rock out of her hand playfully.

"No," she said laughing as she tried to keep the rock from him. "Come on we're going to go toss it in the lake. I wonder if it'll skip."

"Don't make me spend all night diving for my rock!"

Meleana smiled playfully and pressed the rock back into his hand resting hers on top. "I'm not going to take your rock."

"Not without a fight," he wrapped his free hand around her waist. "Don't come between a man and his rock."

Meleana giggled. "I guess I had it all wrong."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as she continued to laugh. "I don't joke around when it comes to my rock." Meleana only laughed harder. "That wasn't that funny," he said laughing at her. "I'm a little confused. Rarely does anyone laugh at any of my jokes, and you look like you're about to cry."

"I know," Meleana said still laughing. "I just can't stop."

"Are you ticklish?" He asked watching as her outburst continued. She shook her head at him. "I think you are."

"How could you tell? I'm laughing anyway?" Meleana wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. "I have to stop," she said still giggling.

"Just think about something serious, like my rock."

"Stop it!" She slapped him lightly in the chest. She took a few calming breaths amidst her laughter and finally calmed her self. "I don't know why that was so funny."

"Your face is all red."

Meleana turned a deeper shade of red and put both of her hands on her cheeks in embarrassment. "Oh I look like a red sun!"

Obi-Wan set his rock back down on his desk and grabbed another biscuit. "No, you're far redder than that."

"Stop it!"

"You made fun of my rock," he said shaking his head. "You can't expect me to be nice to you now."

"Now I'm really embarrassed and my face is never going to go back to normal!"

"Oh don't be embarrassed. Pretty girls are still pretty even when they're red."

"Stop it! I'm going to have to dunk my head in a fountain!"

Obi-Wan walked towards her and lead her hands away from her face. He kissed her jaw gently. "You're not going anywhere," he said, gently taking hold of her chin. He tilted her face up to kiss her. "Did you bring your slave outfit?"

"No, I hadn't really planned to sleep with you tonight."

"Then I suppose tonight will just have to be all about you, and you'll have to make it up to me later."

Meleana leaned forward to kiss him. She was surprised at the fervor behind Obi-Wan's kiss. Obviously she hadn't been the only one left with pent up sexual frustrations the other night.

The kiss broke just long enough for them to undress. Their lips met again as they crashed down on the sleep couch together. As Obi-Wan pressed Meleana down onto the bed alarms began to sound in the temple. He pulled away from her and glared at the door.

"Ignore it," Meleana said. She pulled him back to her. "That's what temple security is for."

"What if it's something important?" His voice was muffled against her lips.

"There are more than two Jedi in this temple." Meleana ground her hips into his. "Take the night off."

He moaned and focused his attention back on her.

Obi-Wan kissed her neck and gripped his hands around her waist. "You are so beautiful," he said on a breath.

Meleana planted a soft kiss on his lips and push him down to the bed. "I thought I told you to lie down," she said kissing him again.

Meleana woke the next morning to the sent of spiced tea. She inhaled deeply before stretching and opening her eyes. Obi-Wan was leaning against his desk sipping a cup of tea. She gave him a sleepy smile.

"Were you staring at me?" She asked in a soft tired voice.

"I was just watching you. Making sure there weren't any bounty hunters jumping out of the wall at you," he said with a slight mischievous grin.

Meleana looked back at the wall. "The wall huh?"

He nodded. "You never know." He poured a cup of tea for her and set it down on the nightstand. Meleana slid back making room for him to sit down.

She sat up and picked the tea up off the nightstand. "Did you find out what the security alert was about?"

He shook his head. "It must not have been anything important." He looked over at the chronometer. "I need to get going. I've got to make sure Anakin is awake and staying out of trouble."

"Busy training all day?"

He nodded and leaned forward to kiss her. "Sorry to rush out on you. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like."

Meleana sighed as the door closed behind him. Once again she found herself alone in Obi-Wan's room. She dressed quickly, the last thing she wanted was to have one of Obi-Wan's friends barge into find her lying naked in his bed. She'd slept late, it was late in the morning and she'd promised Ketana she'd meet her for lunch. She checked her comlink to make sure Ketana hadn't called to cancel on her as she sipped her tea.

She had missed a call, but not from Ketana. Master Windu had contacted her in the early hours of the morning. Meleana frowned wondering what she could have possibly done wrong, unless he'd walked by and heard her screaming the night before. She set down her empty cup and ran her fingers through her hair trying to straighten it.

Her attempt at contacting Master Windu went unanswered. She was almost relieved. What if he'd asked her where she was? Meleana sighed, she was just being paranoid. Jedi Masters had better things to do than worry about her activities, besides there was nothing forbidden about standing in someone else's room. All the same, Meleana decided it was time to get back to her ship.

The temples docking bay was bustling with activity. Droids and temple personnel were crowded around Meleana's ship. Meleana watched as a few security droids came down the entry ramp to the Jaded Star followed by Master Windu. He looked at her with some relief. _At least I'm not in trouble. _Meleana thought to herself.

"Would now be a bad time to mention the spice smuggling I've been doing on the side?" Meleana asked as she approached Master Windu. She looped her thumbs around her belt to keep her hands steady.

Judging by the disapproving look he gave her, the Jedi Master was in no mood for jokes. "There was a break in in the temple last night. It appears you were the target."

Meleana frowned thoughtfully, not wanting to show any signs of emotion. She wasn't sure what to say short of cracking a joke. "Is the ship damaged?"

Mace nodded. "Evidence suggests their intention was to take you alive. Do you have any idea who could be behind this?"

Meleana nodded. "A bounty hunter called Genesis, the one who killed Ari." The peaceful feeling Meleana had woken up with had faded. She could feel panic rising in the pit of her stomach, and that was not a side of her she wanted Master Windu to see. "Is there anything I can do to aid your investigation?"

Mace looked the young knight over before answering. "There is little to be done." He smiled at her. "For once your late night antics have done some good."

Meleana scratched her head trying to stave off paranoia. "How long until I can begin repairing my ship?"

Mace looked over at the investigation team. "I'll have some of Anakin's droids take care of it. That should keep them from cluttering the halls for a few hours."

Meleana bowed her head. "Thank you Master Windu."

"We will do our best to apprehend the culprit. Until then I do suggest you install a security system."

"I'll do that," Meleana bowed again. "May the Force be with you master."

Meleana hurried up to Ketana's room and banged on the door. If she was left alone with her thoughts she knew she'd only make herself crazy. Ketana opened the door with a,_ you don't have to break the door down,_ look on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" Ketana stepped away from the door and took a seat at the head of her bed.

Meleana walked in and shut the door. "I just want to scream at the sky!" Meleana plopped down on Ketana's bed next to her. "I'm a mess!"

Ketana made a face that was purely hers. She raised her brow and straightened her lips. Her brown eyes twinkled at Meleana. "Tell me about it."

"I don't know if I want to!" Meleana sulked.

"Then get out of here I'm not supposed to see you till lunch," As she spoke she pulled a box of candies out of the drawer in her nightstand. She poured some into her hand and gave the box to Meleana.

Meleana took the box from her and shoved a handful of candy into her mouth. "I just don't know what to do with myself." Meleana moaned unhappily and tossed Ketana's blanket over her. "I'm just going to hide here."

Ketana shrugged and stretched her legs out over Meleana. "I'm not going to beg you to tell me what's bothering you."

Meleana wasn't sure where to start. Lately everything bothered her. "I made biscuits," she said, thinking a change of subject was in order. "They're probably all tainted now…" Just when Meleana thought she'd have a breakdown over ruined biscuits her comlink began to chime in unison with Ketana's. They both answered them and, after a brief conversation, turned to each other.

"I'm being summoned to the mission room," They said to each other.

Meleana arched her brow. "Last I checked you had a master you went on missions with. And she wasn't me."

Ketana pulled the blanket off Meleana and hopped out of bed. "I do, she's on her own mission."

Meleana slowly got to her feet and walked down the hall. She didn't want to go on another mission right away. She'd been on mission after mission back to back since she'd earned the title of knight. As uncomfortable as she felt at the temple, she needed some time to rest.

"Besides we might not be going together."

"I'd say the odds are pretty high," Meleana said. "They don't trust you alone," she teased. Ketana had always prided herself on her good standing with the council.

"You're a Knight, I'm a Padawan. They trust you not me. The galaxy has been turned on it's head!" She tossed her arms up in the air. She never would have guessed that Meleana would lose her Padawan braid before she did, but she wasn't as envious as her friend seemed to think. "So why would the biscuits be tainted?"

"Someone broke into my ship last night. They might be fine, but I wouldn't chance it. With my luck they paused just to poison the biscuits. That's exactly the kind of thing that would happen to me."

Ketana rolled her eyes. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It's out of character and not an attractive feature."

"No one seemed to appreciate my old character anyway."

Ketana didn't justify Meleana's whining with a response. Had she ever made an effort to talk to anyone outside of her social circle, which had boiled down to a single person over the years, she might have more friends at the temple. "How's Rendain?"

Meleana stopped in her tracks. "I never went to visit him in the medcenter. I didn't even call to see if he was alright. I'm a terrible person."

"You're over reacting," Ketana said as they pressed on towards the briefing room.

"I have three friends and I can't even keep in touch with them!"

"You'll be down to two if you keep this up." Ketana could tell Meleana was depressed. She'd acted the same way when she'd thought her chances of being chosen as a Padawan had been ruined by Unis. At eleven years old this sort of behavior was expected, but Meleana was too old too keep wining about her problems. "Have you ever even attempted to get to know any of the other Jedi? Can you remember the names of any of the Jedi I've introduced you to?"

Meleana stitched her brow. She couldn't remember any of them. It was possible she'd know their faces, but off the top of her head not one name came to mind. She was terrible with names. She could remember the oddest details of people's lives, but not their names.

"Stop complaining. You need to be more proactive about solving your own problems. Until you've tried connecting with other people I don't want to hear another word about it." They walked through one of the main corridors in the temple, it was filled with Jedi. "Can you name anyone in this room?"

Meleana scanned the room and took a deep breath to stifle her frustration. "There are thousands of Jedi. How am I supposed to remember all of their names?"

"That's exactly my point. There are _thousands_ of Jedi and you would have me believe you only get along with one of them?" Ketana bowed to a few of the Jedi she knew as they passed.

"I made a new friend… sort of."

"Sort of? Sounds to me like another example of your inability to socialize."

Meleana shot her a glare. Ketana was being unusually callous. "Did I do something to offend you?"

"No," she said curtly. "I just don't think your behavior is fitting for a Jedi Knight."

Meleana swallowed hard and attempted to quell her frustration. "I'd really rather not argue with you."

"Telling you what you need to hear is not arguing."

"_This_ is not what I need to hear. And if I were looking for advice I wouldn't ask a Padawan for it." Meleana quickened her pace not caring to hear what Ketana had to say in response.

"Has it occurred to you that you are not the only one with problems?' Ketana said loudly as she attempted to catch up with her. "You expect me to be there whenever you need me, and that tends to be pretty often, but as soon as I need you, you bolt! Whenever anything gets serious you run away! You're doing it right now!"

Meleana stopped walking and turned around. "Would you like to shout a little louder? I'm pretty sure there are a few people who haven't heard you!"

"What do you care? None of them know who you are anyway! I'm the only one with any kind of reputation to uphold!" Ketana saw no reason to lower her voice. "You're already a Knight, they aren't going to expel you from the order for arguing! I'm the only one with anything to lose and I don't care! After over a decade of your whining, I have reached my limit!"

The other Jedi in the hall had all stopped what they were doing and were discretely focused on the argument between the two young humans.

"Anything else?" Meleana asked calmly.

"Force you're annoying! You never take anything seriously! Can you for once act like something matters?"

Meleana looked around the halls. She knew she needed to choose her words carefully as anything she said would spread through the temple. "Seriously, I have a mission briefing to get to. We can discus this later in private once you've calmed down." Meleana turned and walked away at a brisk pace. She could feel Ketana brooding behind her. Ketana was hiding something from her. She was sure of that. She wouldn't go off on Meleana without good reason. Something had to have set her off.

Meleana slowed her pace and waited for Ketana to catch up with her. "This is about your sister isn't it?" she said in a hushed voice as Ketana stormed passed her. She kept pace with her. "Did you turn her over to planetary security?"

"She doesn't deserve the charges they'd have filled on her," Ketana said softly avoiding eye contact.

"She was helping to traffic and sell slaves within the Republic. I'd say the charges fit."

"How can you know that? What gives you the right to judge her? How do you know anyone under her circumstances wouldn't have done the same?"

"You can't feel guilty for leaving her. It's not as though you made a conscious choice to abandon your sister. Did you even know you had a sister?"

Ketana turned and fixed her auburn eyes on Meleana. "I'm not having this conversation with you. We're done."

"Good that's very mature." Meleana rolled her eyes and continued into the briefing room.


	11. Chapter 11

-11-

The sun had set on the Jedi Temple by the time Meleana had finally made it back to her ship. She had spent the time it had taken to repair her ship sparring with Master Windu. She and Ketana had been ordered to continue pursuing the slavers. It was Ketana's job to protect the few they had in custody while Meleana followed the trail of information they had given planetary security. Meleana wasted no time getting the ship into hyperspace. She wanted nothing more than to get her tired muscles into warm water.

After a long relaxing shower she headed for bed. Her room had obviously been repaired. The outer wall looked fine, but there were scorch marks on the dresser up against it. She wondered why anyone would bother cutting their way through the outer hull when her door had been unlocked. She finished drying her hair and set her wet towel on top of the damaged piece of furniture. She scanned the room for any other signs of a break in. The droids had done an excellent job of cleaning up. Though it was obvious her plant had been repotted. She looked it over and stroked its leaves gently. Her Master had given it to her as a gift when she completed the ship. It required very little water and almost no sunlight. It hadn't grown much over the years. Meleana frowned at the idea of someone breaking into her ship and bullying her little green plant. She pat the plant gently as if to reassure it and lay down on her bed.

A small pink flower on her nightstand caught her attention as she reached over to shut off the lights. The flower looked oddly familiar. She got out of bed and, with the flower, hurried into the control room. She checked the holonet to confirm her hunch. The flower was from her home world, and not one popular enough to export to Coruscant. She turned to the holo-transmitter and keyed in Obi-Wan's code.

"Did you give me a flower?" She asked as soon as he had answered in a harsher tone than she had meant.

"If I had, I certainly wouldn't admit to it now."

"So you didn't give me a flower?" she said in a hurried tone.

"No and now that I know they offend you so much I never will."

Meleana stood up and locked the control room door, now feeling very paranoid. "I think the bounty hunter broke into my ship last night."

"Do you want me to come down?"

"No I'm in hyperspace." Meleana glanced back towards the door. "Master Windu was here for hours with a team of droids. If there had been anyone here he would have sensed them… right?"

"Of course."

Meleana paused. "Unless I just happened to catch him while he was here and there were nothing but droids in my ship all day."

"I'm sure the droids would have noticed him."

Meleana stitched her brow. "I have a very low opinion of droids."

"You'll be fine. If you're that concerned come back to the temple and I'll help you search the ship."

Meleana exhaled sharply. "No, thank you, I'll be fine. Sorry for interrupting you."

"You may interrupt me whenever you'd like."

"Good," Meleana said, a slight smile spread across her lips. "I will anyway."

Obi-Wan smiled at her. "May the force be with you."

She broke off the communication and looked back at the door. Had she not been so stiff she may have spent the duration of the journey in the control room, but she wanted her bed. Meleana picked up the flower and walked purposefully back into her room. She plunged the small pink petals into the dirt around her plant. She took great satisfaction in the idea that her plant would eventually eat the flower.

She shut off the lights and sat down in the center of her bed to begin her meditation, hoping it would clear her mind and give her some insight on her coming mission.

_Meleana once again found herself lying in sweet smelling foliage. Even over her labored breathing she could here water gently hitting the shore near by. Her vision was clouded by the blood trickling through her eyes. She could just make out the black structure in front of her. She could feel something mocking her, daring her to try to save herself._

Meleana opened her eyes wrenching herself from her meditation. She was certain that this vision had nothing to do with her current mission and, while troubling, it wasn't terribly helpful. She took a moment to clear her head before diving back in again.

Ketana was usually as calm and centered as any Jedi in the temple. She'd spent her entire life playing by the rules, striving to be the perfect Jedi, and lecturing Meleana on her recklessness. Now she found herself wishing she'd broken a few rules in the past, it would make what she was doing now much easier. She didn't know how to lie to a Jedi Master, she didn't want to, but she felt compelled to protect her sister. She was supposed to be turned over to the Coruscant authorities, along with the other slavers, but how could she do that to her own sister? Crissida wanted to be redeemed, sending her to prison would only cement her fate to live a life of crime.

As she approached the prison, she was sure she'd made the right decision. She would need to find a more permanent solution, for now she'd dressed her twin sister in Jedi tunics and told her to stay out of sight. She'd left her in her quarters and instructed her not to go out again until she'd returned.

Still, she couldn't help but worry about her sister and the repercussions if the council found out she was hiding her. Meleana was the only person she felt she could talk to, that she'd trust, and rather than ask for her advice, she'd insulted her.

"You're a little late," The prison guard, a sullustan male, said. He sighed at the look of bewilderment the Jedi gave him. "The prisoners we had requested the Jedi take custody of were poisoned. Two of them are in critical condition. The others aren't in any condition."

Ketana didn't know what to say, she was late, she should have been at the prison hours ago. Her concern for her sister had already ruined the mission. _Meleana is going to kill me,_ she thought to herself, _Never mind her, the council is going to kill me_.

"Where are they now?" She asked trying to keep some amount of confidence in her voice.

"The prison's medical facility, it'll be a miracle if they wake up at all. Hope you weren't planning on getting any more information out of them."

Ketana tried to hide the worry in her eyes as she thought of what she would say to the council when they asked her why she hadn't gone straight to the prison. "Take me to them." she said.

Meleana practically hopped off her ship on to the surface of Ando. For once she knew where she was going, and she'd gotten there in once piece- so far. The alleged slavers Republic head quarters were hidden deep in the oceans of Ando. She'd already arranged for transport to the oceans depths and, though she hadn't been able to get a read on her mission, she was determined to stay positive.

It wasn't difficult to spot the lone Aqualish standing on the rock faced surface of the small deserted island. Meleana approached him and bowed, not knowing any Aqualish she left it at that as he ushered her into the small submarine. Meleana hoped it had been explained to him that he wasn't to wait for her. An Ando security team was on its way to bring back any prisoners, and they would be retrieving her from the underwater compound. They had agreed to hold off on storming the compound to allow the Jedi time to recover information.

Meleana watched the passing sea turn from blue to black as they sunk deeper into the oceans depths. The submarine couldn't dock in the underwater base; it would call attention to itself. She was wearing a wetsuit that along with the force would help her cope with the pressure for a limited amount of time. Assuming the intelligence they had was correct she'd be able to gain access to the base through a small service port into one of the pressurized loading bays. If she was fast enough, which she'd have to be if she wanted to stay alive, she'd be able to get in before the sensors noticed the breach.

The submarine slowed as it neared the base. The Aqualish captain turned to her and said something. Meleana peered out the view port, she couldn't see anything. She looked over at the navcomputer, they were at the designated coordinates. Meleana nodded to the Aqualish and moved into the submarines pressurization chamber. She stuck her aquatabreather into her mouth and focused on immersing herself in the force.

The prisons medical facilities were cramped and outdated. There was little room for Ketana to review the security holos between the two critical patients. She set the computer to work separating footage of the documented workers from the rest of it, while she worked on healing the two critical patients.

By the time the computer signaled it had completed its task she felt completely drained. She sat down with a heavy sigh. She started with the prisoners. She watched them go about their daily activities at an accelerated speed, looking for anything out of the ordinary, anyone they'd had contact with. She sorted the prisons full security recordings further, leaving only beings who'd had contact with the prisoners in the last ten hours. She sighed in frustration. The only people who'd had any contact with the prisoners that day had been the prison workers. That left her to sort through the much longer section of recordings.

Even with the aid of the computer Ketana spent hours going over the security recordings. She'd nearly given up when a familiar face caught her eye. The bounty hunter that had attacked her on Roon had entered the building just minutes before the prisoners were poisoned. She watched the recording again, not believing her eyes. He'd just walked right in, in street clothing, without any identification. He smiled and waved at the prison employees, he shot a droid, and they smiled and waved him through.

It occurred to Ketana that she hadn't mentioned the bounty hunter that had so easily taken her down to Meleana. They'd been debriefed on their mission separately, and it hadn't occurred to her that the information would be relevant after that. Ketana stared at the looping footage. She was dead, her career as a Jedi was over before it had even began. Twenty-one years of playing by the book, being the perfect example of a fledgling Jedi, was ruined in less than a week. She'd lied to the council, harbored a criminal, and the people she was supposed to have been protecting were dead or dying. What could she possibly say to the council, to Meleana, to make any of this seem reasonable?

Ketana pulled herself together, while she was still a Jedi Padawan she could at least try to pick up the pieces. She ran the bounty hunters image, trying to find a name, a ship, something she could use to track him.

_No records found._

Ketana frowned at the computer. She didn't have any connections that would help her identify a bounty hunter, certainly not one that was good enough to erase himself. She already knew Crissida knew nothing about him.

Ketana winced as she pulled out her comlink, knowing she needed help, knowing she'd be in trouble even Meleana would make a face at. With a heavy sigh she contacted the temple.

Meleana spent several minutes lying on the floor of the base, hoping no security teams were on their way. She was a Jedi, but she was also a human, and the pressure had literally gotten to her. Just as she pulled herself to her feet an alarm began to sound in the bay she'd snuck into. Meleana looked to the pressure sensitive doors in front of her and behind her, one set was closing, the other opening, and not in the order she liked. She dove through the doors to the main section of the base and looked around the tight hall. She could hear foot steps coming closer to her and darted in the opposite direction.

She heard the doors slide back open minutes later.

"I trust you have good news this time?" A male voice, likely human, said.

"The prisoners won't be giving the authorities anymore information."

The second male voice sent a chill down Meleana's spine. The bounty hunter, Genesis, seemed to be unavoidable as of late.

"So they're dead?"

Genesis paused, "Mostly. The ones who survived won't recover. They are as much of a threat to you as a muja fruit."

"Even muja fruits can do damage if you throw them hard enough."

"Their brains are jelly," Genesis said, frustration slipping through his voice. He didn't like having his methods questioned by his clients, even when they were the types to get their hands dirty.

"And the girl?"

"She's being kept in the Jedi temple. I can retrieve her, but their will be a considerable increase in my fee."

"You already cost double the normal rate."

Genesis let out an audible sigh. "Then I'm sure you'll find someone else capable of infiltrating the Jedi temple." He paused. "I didn't think so. Shall we have a drink while we discuss pricing?"

Part of Meleana wanted to lunge down the hall and grab the bounty hunter by the hair. How dare he even think of breaking into her home? She was reminded of the little girl kicking and screaming in the arms of the Jedi Master who had brought her to the temple. Thankfully she had better control of her emotions now than she'd had then.

Meleana followed the distant sound of footsteps. There was no polite conversation between the bounty hunter and the slaver. Obviously each saw the other as a necessary evil. Meleana wondered, as she made her way silently down the hall, if the man Genesis was talking to was in fact in charge. If he wasn't trailing the bounty hunter wouldn't do much good. Personally she would like nothing more than to see him brought to justice, but her mission was to gather evidence against the slavers, and Genesis was not one of the slavers. She quietly hoped Genesis would ask for enough money that the head honcho would have to approve the amount.

The two men walked into an office, still oblivious to the Jedi. It intrigued Meleana that the bounty hunter couldn't sense her. Twice now she'd seen him while he'd been completely unaware of her presence, but he'd found her through the force before. Meleana grinned, force sensitive he may be, but not sensitive enough.

Meleana entered an office next to the one the two men were occupying. She moved a chair next to the rooms air vent and stood on top of it. She moved the small audio recording device she'd planted on herself up in between the metal slats.

"How much are we talking?" The slaver asked pouring them each a drink.

"I prefer brandy," Genesis said snidely.

The man ignored his comment. "I need a number."

"To get into the Jedi temple? Ten million." Genesis said as though he were asking the slaver for spare change.

"You think one girl is worth ten million?" The slaver laughed.

"You've seen my resume. I'm sure you can find some amateur who'll say they can do it for a tenth of what I'm charging. Then when he fails, and you have to call me, you'll be out eleven million." Genesis watched the slaver closely and sipped his drink. "To do a job this size requires more than one person. Everyone involved needs to have a certain skill set. These are not people who come cheep. Perhaps we're above your pay grade."

"And what assurance do I have that the Jedi won't come after us?"

Genesis chuckled. "The Jedi are already after you, they have been since before you hired me. You can't expect to get away with conducting this sort of business in the core. If the Jedi weren't after you in droves there would be a public out cry."

"And how much do you charge to retain your services for on going security?"

"Typically I don't work as a body guard, and since you scoffed at ten million, I am fairly confident you can't afford me."

"We can't deal with the Jedi on our own… How much?"

"That depends on how many Jedi I have to kill."

The slaver sighed. "I'll have to check the books, after this ten mill… how long do you think it will take them to find us?"

Genesis smiled broadly at the slaver. "They're already here."

"What?" He asked in horror.

"You didn't notice the wet foot prints leading out of the docking station I arrived in? At this depth only a Jedi could have gotten in here without a ship of some kind.

"Where is he now?"

"She, the foot prints were too small to be male. I'd say she's human, medium height, and I'm sure she followed us. Wouldn't you?"

"Kill her!" The slaver sounded like a frightened child shouting at an unwanted pest.

Genesis waved his hand calmly. "In a minute, first there are documents to be drawn out and signed. I'll take a million for every Jedi dealt with, and an additional one point five for a kill."

The slaver ground his teeth furiously. "How do you know she won't storm in here and kill us both!"

"She hasn't yet. She already knew I was here, and Jedi are always aware of danger long before it comes. Really we have time… or you could just transfer eleven million now, and I could go deal with her."

The slaver began typing away on his personal computer. "There," he said turning the screen towards Genesis. "It's done."

Genesis smiled. "It's been a pleasure as usual."

Meleana was waiting for him in the hall, her purple blade active and held at the ready. As soon as Genesis stepped out of the office his expression changed. He no longer looked like a man handling business, he was happy.

"Hello my love," he said in Meleana's native tongue.

Meleana responded with a string of insults in Biernan.

"And here I'd hoped to impress you by learning your language." He frowned theatrically at her. "Did you get my gift princess?"

"You mean the flowers? I fed them to my plant."

Genesis kept his distance as he mulled over the potential end to this confrontation. "You have help coming I presume?"

Meleana nodded.

"Hmm… that does complicate things… I was so hoping to take you back to my love nest."

"_Love nest_? Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic."

"Speaking of pathetic; how is your little boyfriend?"

Had anyone else asked that question Meleana would have rolled her eyes and corrected them, but she wanted to piss Genesis off. "He's amazing and enjoying every part of me you'll never get to see. He wanted to thank you for shooting him. He got a wonderful night out of it."

"I'm sure. The same way your Master enjoyed you before I killed him."

"Is that supposed to get a rise out of me? I don't respect you enough to care about your opinion. Come to think of it, I don't respect you at all."

"But you're afraid of me, aren't you pet?"

"We have mantras for that. There is no fear only…. Oh… peace? Maybe that's the one for emotion… I was never much good at the mantra. The point is there is no fear!"

He held a hand up defensively, "I'm not challenging that. I know how you Jedi types enjoy your mantras."

"As long as we're clear on that," Meleana said tapping her foot.

"What sort of a Jedi doesn't know the code?" Genesis asked, genuinely interested. "Are you just stalling me?"

"No, what reason could I possibly have to stall you?" Meleana was in fact buying time. She'd planted a device on the computer console in the office she'd hid in and wanted to be sure it had time to send all of the slavers data to Coruscant.

"There's the security team for one."

"Well I'm sure the slavers have security. Why would I want to stand here and wait for them? You're not exactly good company."

"Then why not attack me?"

"Jedi rarely strike first unless provoked. You haven't even drawn your blade. What sort of Jedi would I be if I attacked you?"

"Couldn't you conveniently forget that rule along with the rest of the code?"

"I'm not an anarchist."

Genesis examined her, wondering what it was she was trying to hide. "I'd think you'd be a little perturbed that you were discovered before you had a chance to retrieve any evidence."

"Jedi are also not quick to anger." Meleana narrowed her eyes at the bounty hunter. "Given the pitch you just gave that slaver on your intimate knowledge of the Jedi, I'd expect you to know that."

"Whatever you're reasoning, I'm not being paid to chat with you."

"Then please, try and kill me."

"I was just paid to deal with you. I have no desire to kill you."

Meleana narrowed her eyes at him, wondering why he still hadn't attacked, "Whatever it is you're going to do, please hurry up and do it."

"Not yet," he said after a brief pause.

Meleana arched her brow, "I've got work to do. If you're not going to get in my way, then please step aside and let me do my work." Meleana attempted to walk down the hall. He took a step to the side to prevent her from passing.

"I do intend to get in your way. I just need to time it correctly so we don't kill each other."

Meleana's violet eyes locked onto his. "Touch me and I will kill you."

He smiled and took a step towards her, his hand resting on the hilt of his vibroblade. "Is that a promise princess?"

An alarm began to sound on the base notifying its inhabitants of an incoming craft. Meleana watched Genesis carefully, expecting him to run, he drew his blade. She jumped back and raised her lightsaber defensively.

"I thought you didn't want to kill me?" She yelled over the alarm as she ducked an attack.

He smiled at her as their blades clashed. "That doesn't mean I don't want to hurt you." He narrowly dodged a lightsaber to the head as he spoke. "Your skills have improved." He lowered his weapon, recognizing the bloodthirsty look on his opponents face. "If you want to kill me do it."

Meleana lowered her weapon to her side. She wanted to kill him, and had it not been for all her years of Jedi training she would have, she couldn't think of one reason the man standing in front of her should live.

"What a good little Jedi you are. I'm sure your Master would be proud." He was carried down the hall by a wave of the force before he had a chance to strike at her. "Did I hit a nerve princess?" He asked getting to his feet. He focused his mind on Meleana as he walked back towards her.

As Genesis approached his features began to change, his black hair turned brown, the hard curves of his face softened. Finally as he reached her and swung his blade towards her Meleana saw her purple blade clash with another green lightsaber. She shut her eyes, refusing to allow Genesis' illusion to affect her. She shouldn't need her vision to fight him, but she found her ability to feel the force clouded. Despite that Meleana kept her eyes shut, whatever he was doing, she was sure he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, and the security team would be arriving soon. She moved her lightsaber to block an attack to her left and screamed as his blade sliced through her back to the right. She stumbled forwards and opened her eyes. She tossed him into the nearest wall with the force and held him there.

Genesis could here the security team getting closer. "Help!" He screamed, allowing Meleana's perception of him to return to normal. "Someone please help me!"

Meleana stitched her brow in confusion. It was hardly like him to cry out for help at all, much less against an injured opponent. "What are you doing?" She demanded through grit teeth.

He didn't have time to answer before the security team reached them, there blasters drawn and pointed at both the bounty hunter and the Jedi.

"Please help me," Genesis said in a pitiful voice. He was curled into a ball against the wall Meleana had tossed him into. A few of the security officers stepped towards them. He took a moment to focus on the mind of all of the officers in the tight hall. He sat up and thrust his blade through the heart of the nearest officer, immediately every blaster began to fire.

Had Meleana's lightsaber not been drawn the shots pelting down on her would surely have killed her. She'd watched Genesis kill the officer, and now the remaining members of the security team were attacking her.

"I'm a Jedi!" Meleana yelled, still deflecting fire. A shot grazed her shoulder and the officers stopped firing and started shouting at her, there blasters still aimed towards her.

"Weapon," One of them finally said in basic.

Meleana glared over at Genesis and reluctantly deactivated her blade. The Aqualish placed electrocuffs on both of the humans.

"Do you think you're going to get away with this? There's bound to be a security recording of what actually happened." Meleana said when she and Genesis had been secured in the back of one of the armored submarines.

"There are over a dozen witnesses to your crime," he answered with a smile. "The Aqualish aren't exactly known for their kindness, or for their hospitality to foreigners. I doubt the security officers will second guess what they all saw with their own eyes for the sake of proving your innocence."

"The Jedi aren't just going to let them keep me."

"They may not have a choice, and if they believe you committed a crime… well it wouldn't exactly help relations here if the Jedi pull their little princess out of jail now would it? But don't worry, it'll give you wrinkles, and I'll be back for you."

"Haven't you noticed you're in the same cuffs I am?"

Genesis raised his thin black brow. "Once I explain to them that I was just an innocent maintenance worker, bludgeoned nearly to death by a Jedi gone mad, I'm sure they'll release me." He smirked at the angry look in her eyes. "Are you going to kick me to death? That will hardly help you prove your innocence."

Meleana sighed. "Do you still get paid if your employers are incarcerated?"

He nodded. "A good deal of my clientele are, facing life in prison tends to bring out the worst in people."

"How did the slavers acquire trade federation droids?" If Meleana had to talk to him she may as well try and get something useful out of him.

"With money." Genesis looked at the blood pooling on the durasteel bench Meleana was seated on. "I wonder if they'll treat your wounds." His tone was a mixture of amusement and concern.

"I can use the force to heal myself."

"If I were you I'd get started. I'm sure they'll put you on some sort of force inhibitor. I'll see to that." He shook his head. "We can't have you escaping."

"I won't need to escape. I'm innocent."

"Keep telling yourself that princess."

Several weeks passed during which time most of the injured slavers died, those that didn't were too frightened to say any more than they already had. Ketana had avoided prying information out of her sister, concerned it would do more harm than good. She thought it odd that Meleana had not returned, and when she'd asked if Meleana would be returning soon, had been told that the law enforcement on Ando had requested the Jedi stay until they had determined whether or not all of the slavers had been taken into custody.

A number of the slavers had already been transferred to Coruscant for questioning, and from what Ketana could tell, the entire operation had been shut down. One had confessed to having another "office" in the outerrim, but in that region slavery wasn't illegal. It seemed Ketana had done all she could do, but until Meleana returned and confirmed that, she would be unable to take on another mission.

It seemed Ketana would finally have the time to deal with her sister. She would no longer be in danger if all of the slavers had in fact been arrested. It was about time, she wasn't sure how she'd managed to hide her within the temple for so long without being discovered.

"You're kicking me out?" Crissida said, a mixture of fear and anger in her voice.

Ketana shook her head. She'd thought her sister would be happy to get out of her small room in the temple. "No… I just, well it seems like things have settled down and you know you can't stay here forever."

"Right because _I'm_ not a Jedi, I just look like one. Besides, even if they aren't worried about me talking, they'll still kill me out of spite. Worse if they find out my sister is a Jedi, they'll assume this whole thing was my fault, then I'll just wish they'd killed me."

Ketana frowned, her sister had a point. "I'll check around and see if anyone is looking for you. If so," Ketana paused and took a deep breath. "Then you can stay here. If not we'll find you some place nearby, so I'll be close enough incase anything does happen."

Crissida nodded slowly. She didn't talk much with her sister, despite sharing a small room with her for the past month. The truth was she resented her, hated her even, but at the moment she was her only shot at staying out of prison. She was using her, she didn't feel good about it, but every time she thought about turning herself in she reminded herself of the years of resentment she'd had for this woman, her twin. Growing up she could never be good enough, it didn't give her any reason to try to be. She knew she'd made mistakes, but if she hadn't lived in Ketana's shadow her entire life, maybe she would've had the support system she needed to keep her on the right path.

"You don't seem to understand, it's not a question of if people are looking for me. They are, and when they find me… it won't be pretty." Crissida said somberly.

"Well we're going to have to figure something out. You can't stay here forever, eventually someone is going to discover you."

"I'd rather deal with the Jedi than the bounty hunters."

"Well I'm not going to put up a sign with your name and address. We can get you a place under a different name. Whatever we end up doing I will make sure you're not in any immediate danger."


	12. Chapter 12

-12-

"Hello Princess," Genesis said walking into Meleana's dark holding cell. She was curled in a ball on the floor. The room reeked of vomit and decayed flesh. "Have they still not treated your wounds? If I didn't know better I'd say the Aqualish wanted you to die."

Meleana looked up at him through her half shut eyes. "What do you want?" She asked in a weak raspy voice.

"Well not you in this state." Genesis let out a puff of air. "I've asked them to treat you, unfortunately, they don't really care what I have to say. That's the trouble with lying, it always comes back to haunt you. If I'd told them who I really was they'd do whatever I said."

"If you told them who you really were you'd still be in a cage." Meleana shut her eyes, her elevated body temperature made them burn constantly.

"How does it feel? Knowing I'm your only hope of survival?"

"All they need to do is forget to give me the force inhibitors once."

"They won't and by the time any Jedi gets out here you'll be gone. They want you to die, as far as their concerned you killed one of their own. Letting an infection take you gets them their way without getting their hands too dirty."

"Then I guess I'll die," Meleana said calmly.

"Or you could come with me."

"I'll just die here, thanks."

"You will," Genesis said as if to clarify. The idea that she would choose to lie there and die wasn't something he could understand.

"Unless you brought me some medical supplies, I think its time for you to leave."

"Are you going to make me?"

"I'll throw up on you if I must."

He stared at her a moment longer before leaving.

It was days before Meleana's cell door opened again. When it did she didn't bother looking up, sure it was Genesis again. He'd been her only visitor. She opened her eyes when she was hoisted off the ground violently. Two Aqualish dragged her out of the cell by the arms. They tossed her into a shower and streams of hot water began pouring over her. She cried out when the scalding water rushed over her infected back and shoulder. Without the force the pain was almost unbearable. As soon as she was cleaned they hoisted her out of the shower.

She was dressed in clean dry clothing before being deposited into a new clean cell. Thankfully they left her shivering on the small cot in the room; Meleana was too weak to have gotten there on her own. A few minutes after the doors were shut, they opened again. Meleana didn't bother to open her eyes until she felt a hand on her shoulder, and then she did so with great effort.

Seeing Obi-Wan crouched over her she blinked and swiped her hand out clumsily. If this was a hallucination it wouldn't have been the first she'd had in the past few days.

"Is she alright?" She heard Anakin ask in his sweet young voice.

Obi-Wan gently brushed the hair from her damp face and placed his hand on her forehead. Feeling her hot skin he gently ran his hand over her cheek to comfort her. He looked at Meleana's wet hair and dry clothing. It was obvious they had made some effort to clean her up before he arrived. He'd been sent to look for her, and had expected to find her in fine condition. Meleana seemed like the type to forget to check in with the temple.

"Where are you hurt?" Obi-Wan asked.

She wasn't sure she had the strength to name both injuries. "Back," Meleana croaked out.

He very gently rolled her over and lifted her shirt. He grimaced at the huge black gash down the center of her back. He pulled a bacta pack out of his belt and sprinkled it on the wound, not sure what good such a small amount would do on such a large badly infected area.

"Anakin, wait outside. Make sure no one comes in." he said, not wanting to be distracted while he attempted to heal Meleana.

Obi-Wan kneeled on the edge of the cot and held up his hands just above Meleana's injury. Even from a distance he could feel heat radiating off of it. He wasn't sure how much good it would do, even the temples best healers would have needed time to treat such a large wound, and the additional infection, which had clearly spread throughout her body, wasn't exactly helping.

He did what he could, which wasn't much, and dropped down lower so he could look into Meleana's clouded blood shot eyes. "Who did this?" He asked as he pulled off his robe. He laid it over her shivering form.

"Bounty hunter," Meleana squeaked out weakly.

"The one that's been trailing you?"

Meleana nodded.

"Is he the reason you're locked up?"

Meleana nodded again.

"Did you kill anyone?"

She shook her head.

Obi-Wan nodded, "I'll be back." He hated leaving her in her condition she was in, but sitting by her and comforting her wouldn't do any good.

"Stay with Jedi Ariadne," Obi-Wan said to Anakin, "Contact me immediately if anyone comes in to see her."

"Where are you going?"

"That depends on what the Aqualish have to say." Obi-Wan placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Go sit with her, talk about machines."

Anakin nodded. "Alright."

Obi-Wan walked at a quick pace back into the head office of the prison. A protocol droid was waiting to translate along with the prisons warden.

"Why haven't her injuries been treated?" He asked in a calm tone.

"He says they have a request on file for the Jedi to receive medical attention, but treatment is on a first come first serve basis. She will need to wait until a medic is available." The protocol droid responded.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath to calm him self, he wasn't buying the wardens excuse. "In that case perhaps she should be transferred to a facility on Coruscant for treatment or released so she may be taken to a med center while she awaits her trail." Obi-Wan didn't need the droid to translate the warden's response. No was easy enough to decipher in any language. "Allowing a Jedi to die in your custody will not be taken lightly, particularly if she is found to be innocent."

"He says she will not be found innocent, and the penalty for her crime is death."

"You must have quiet a bit of evidence against her to be so sure of yourself. If you'd allow me to review it, it may help me understand why you've put her in the position you have."

"He says the witness statements will be available for you to review."

"I would also like access to the crime scene as well as the victim."

"The victim's body has already been released. You will have access to any other evidence you need."

At least the warden was sure enough in himself that he didn't deny Obi-Wan access to the evidence, though that in itself was troubling. "Is there a room where I might have some privacy to go over the holos?"

Obi-Wan finished reading the witness testimonies, all of which said the Jedi had attacked the security officer from behind, killing him instantly. He'd looked at the holos of the body first, the easiest was for him to judge Meleana's involvement, or lack thereof, was to determine the weapon that had been used. Judging by the extent of the tissue damage a vibroblade had been used, not a lightsaber, and all of the wounds were inflicted from the front. This alone should have been enough evidence for the Aqualish to release her. In a fair trial there was no definitive way of proving Meleana's guilt. He looked over the holos of the victim once more before getting up to retrieve the security holos from the slavers vessel.

Anakin was in the midst of telling Meleana a story about podracing when the door to her cell opened.

Genesis stopped at the door seeing the pint sized Jedi standing next to Meleana. He scanned the room for any dark corners his master may have been hidden in. "Your Master's looking for you," Genesis said to the young Padawan with a warm smile. "He's waiting for you in the Wardens office."

Anakin reached for his comlink, he hadn't reached it when Meleana's hand gripped his.

"Go," Meleana said. Genesis would kill Anakin before he had the chance to key in Obi-Wan's code.

Anakin furrowed his brow, not sure whose orders to follow.

"Go," Meleana said again this time more firmly.

Genesis smiled at Anakin as he walked passed. "I certainly wasn't expecting that," he said after Anakin had walked out. "I'm not sure what to do now…" Genesis sighed. "Well I'm sure you won't be going anywhere just yet." He stalked over to the cot and grabbed Meleana by the arm. He yanked her up, ignoring her scream of pain. His lips closed around her neck, first sucking the biting down on her skin until he'd broken it.

He pushed Meleana back down onto the bed and spit the blood out of his mouth. "Just so your Jedi friend knows I'm here." He started for the exit. "Oh and you should really see a medic, your bloods tasting a little rancid."

Obi-Wan and Anakin hurried in moments after the bounty hunter had left. Obi-Wan rushed over to her and carefully lay her back down on the cot. He looked at the bite mark on Meleana's neck, and the blood drizzling onto the cot.

Meleana's eyes were shut, and the bite on her neck was the last thing on her mind. Her joints ached, she was freezing and boiling at the same time, she couldn't stop shaking, and everything hurt. She wondered how much longer her body could fight the infection before it finally killed her.

"You're going to get out of here," Obi-Wan said in a soothing tone. "Just hang on."

"We're going?" Meleana whispered without opening her eyes.

"Not yet. The holo from the slavers ship is missing. I need to go down there to see if there's a copy." Obi-Wan caressed her forehead. The Warden had refused to release Meleana based on the evidence they had. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Crissida was lying on Ketana's sleep couch, flipping through her datapad, aware that here sister was staring at her, but not quiet sure why. She'd gotten used to sharing Ketana's small room. Being confined in the Jedi temple seemed like a piece of a cake compared to most of her adult life.

"What?" She finally asked.

Ketana let out a puff of air. "Nothing." There was no reason to bother Crissida with her troubles. She already knew what her reaction would be.

"I don't need to be a Jedi to know that's a lie."

"We need to find you another place to live."

"We've already had this conversation."

Ketana dropped her hands to her side. "I know, but having you here is distracting me from doing my work. My mission partner has been in prison for the last month and I was too preoccupied with you to notice."

"You don't need to be preoccupied with me. I can take care of myself."

"As long as you're here you'll be a distraction. I could get in a lot of trouble if they find you. I'm already in a lot of trouble. At this rate I'll be a Padawan for the rest of my life."

"Is that even possible?"

Ketana grit her teeth in frustration. "I'm not asking you to turn yourself in, I'm just asking you to try and think of an alternate solution. My Master will be back from her mission soon, and if you think she won't notice the change in me, you're wrong. I want to help you but there's only so much I can do."

Crissida wrote a few names and numbers into the datapad and tossed it to Ketana. "One of these people should know if there's a bounty on my head. I wouldn't trust any one of them though. If no one's trying to kill me I'll leave."

Ketana looked down at the datapad. She suddenly felt guilty for even bringing it up.

Despite Meleana's pain, she'd finally managed to fall asleep. It seemed as though she'd just lost consciousness when she was jerked back into her painful reality. She could feel the scabs on her shoulder and back split as she was wrenched into a sitting position. She half opened her eyes to glare at Genesis.

"I'm surprised your Jedi friends aren't here to protect you."

Meleana was shaking uncontrollably. A layer of sweat coated her ashen skin and dark red spots covered most of her body.

"I'm not medic, but I'd say you're running out of time." Genesis sat down on the cot next to her. He wrapped an arm around her and purposely put pressure on her wounded shoulder. "I can fix you. All I'll ask in return is that you'll leave here with me willingly."

"I'd rather die here than go anywhere with you." Meleana said with as much conviction as she could manage.

"Oh come now, don't let stubbornness be the death of you."

"Force inhibitors and lack of medical treatment will be the death of me."

Genesis reached for a vial on his belt. "I thought I made it clear, I have no desire to kill you." He twirled the small bottle in his hand. "At this point you've left me no choice but to help you. You will need to remove your shirt of course."

Meleana glared at him. "I think my infection has progressed beyond the point where anyone other than a healer can help me," she said slowly.

"I didn't say I could cure you." Genesis sighed and opened the vial. He dumped the contents down the back of her shirt. "Little bugs," he said seeing the shocked expression on her face. "They'll eat the dead and infected skin."

"'The infection is in my blood."

Genesis rolled his eyes. "Must I do everything for you? Even without your precious force, you have an immune system."

"What are you going to do with me?" Meleana asked wondering why the bounty hunter hadn't already done something.

"I thought giving you some time to think would help you come around," he said in a conversational tone. "And to be honest having you in a weakened state isn't exactly a bad thing. I'd rather you not be able to fight back."

Meleana looked down at her shaking hands, she wasn't sure she'd have the strength to make a fist, much less fight off an attacker.

Genesis watched as the bugs finished their work and dropped down onto the floor. "We should get going. I'd rather we leave before the Jedi gets back."

"You think they're just going to let you walk out with me?"

"I've made arrangements with them. The Jedi's arrival helped, they were so worried he'd take you that they were more than happy to give you to me for punishment. They get to see you suffer without being to blame."

Genesis lifted her up off the cot and slung her over his shoulder. "Could you stop shaking?" He asked walking her out of the cell. "It's a little unnerving."

"I hope I have a seizure and knock your head off." Meleana knew she could put up some sort of a fight, but she would never be able to win in her condition, it would only make things worse.

Genesis waved to the on duty guards as they passed. He dropped Meleana into the back of an open top speeder and slid into the driver's seat. "How does it feel to be free?"

Meleana glared in response as the speeder began to move. They had only been driving for a few seconds when she heard Genesis curse and felt the speed increase. Meleana rolled off the seat as he took a sharp turn down an ally.

"Why don't Jedi ever give up!" He shouted in frustration and pushed the accelerator. "See we waste time talking and this is what happens! Damn chatty women."

Meleana rolled her eyes and buried her face in the floor of the speeder.

"I can go faster," Anakin said, keeping a close eye on the speeder ahead of them. He pushed his speed.

"Just get along side of him," Obi-Wan said watching as Genesis took another sharp turn. There wasn't much land on Ando, and soon they would be flying over open ocean if he didn't turn around.

"Are you going to jump?" Anakin asked as they drew closer to the other speeder.

"Yes, just follow behind us, try to stay bellow the other speeder if you can."

"No problem," Anakin said confidently. It seemed like an eternity since he'd been able to have fun doing anything, and this was fun.

Obi-Wan stood up as they approached the other speeder. He focused before jumping, sure Genesis would try to shake him. The speeder shook under his weight as his feet touched down on the hood. Genesis jerked the speeder to the side, nearly flipping it. Obi-Wan attached his cable launcher to the hood just in time to avoid being tossed off of the craft. He swung himself back up and into the speeder.

Genesis looked at Obi-Wan and the ocean in front of him and sighed. "You've spoiled all my fun," he said calmly.

"Pull over." Obi-Wan said unclipping his lightsaber.

Genesis shook his head, opened his door and slid out into the ocean flying by beneath them.

Obi-Wan jumped into the drivers seat and slowed the speeder to a stop. He turned around to look at Meleana. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Meleana said into the floor of the speeder.

Anakin pulled up next to them. "That was wicked!"

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, but decided there would be time to scold Anakin later. "Do you remember where the ship is?" Anakin nodded. "Meet us there."

Looking around at the tranquil halls of healing Meleana couldn't help but feel as though she were a little too familiar with the place. Not that she was complaining, without the temples healers she'd have been on a funeral pyre years before making it to knighthood.

Though she no longer felt, or looked, like the living dead, the healers had insisted on keeping her. Apparently they were concerned that if released Meleana wouldn't take their recommendation of bed rest seriously. They were right. Even in the halls of healing she'd been caught out of bed stretching and going through training exercises a few times. Meleana had argued that it would prevent her from having future visits to the halls, the healers were not amused.

Meleana had been in the midst of one of her more active training exercises when there was a knock on her door. She immediately leapt back into bed and under the covers.

"Come in," she said. Meleana smiled at Master Windu as he entered. "Master Windu," Meleana bowed her head.

He looked over the thin layer of sweat coating her. "The healers tell me they've been having some difficulty getting you to rest."

Meleana licked her lips nervously. "I appreciate their concern for me, but I feel the best way to prepare myself for future issues, is to push myself. What better place to test my endurance than surrounded by healers?"

"Perhaps you should heed their advice; it would help them lighten their work load." Mace smiled at the look of unwilling defiance in her eyes. She'd never been one to follow orders blindly. "But I'm not here to scold you for getting out of bed. I thought you might like the completed details of you last mission."

Meleana leaned forward and nodded. "Have the slavers been removed from Republic space?"

Mace nodded. "As far as we can tell from the information you recovered from their facilities, that was the last of their bases within the Republic. The slaves have been returned home, and some additional arrests have been made. Were you able to take a look at their client list before uploading it?"

Meleana shook her head. "I was multitasking."

"Well it included quiet a few high profile clients, as you might imagine. I suggest you use some of your prescribed bed rest to read up on some of the Holo-Net gossip. "

Meleana furrowed her brow. "Did you really just say that?"

Mace smiled. "Additionally, I was wondering if you might help me with something. Master Titania is still handling a trade dispute in the midrealm, and her Padawan had been acting… unusual. She should have noticed your disappearance long before any of us did. The fact that she was not communicating with her mission partner is alarming. Have you spoken with her since you returned?"

"No," Meleana said shaking her head. "You're my first visitor."

"I was under the impression you were close."

Meleana paused. She didn't want to get Ketana into any trouble, but Master Windu had a point, she had been acting out of sorts. "If the healers will allow it I'd be happy to go have a talk with her."

"That won't be necessary. Do you have any theories that might help explain her behavior?"

"No Master." _None that I care to share at least_, she wanted to add.

"In that case I'll leave you to your rest. It appears your fever has returned." he said with a grin.

Meleana smiled sheepishly. "Thank you for stopping by Master Windu. Perhaps if the healers ever feel I can be trusted to take care of myself we can continue where our last training session left off."

Master Windu nodded. "May the force be with you."

"And you Master." Meleana let out a puff of air when the door shut behind him.

She couldn't help but wonder what Ketana was up too. Now that the subject had been brought up it was all she could think about. It was unusual that she hadn't stopped by to see her or apologized for her lack of contact during their mission. That paired with the argument they had had before she left had Meleana thinking something was distracting her. Something like her sister. Ketana wasn't the jealous type, it wouldn't have bothered her that Meleana had been Knighted first, but being torn between her family and her loyalty to the Jedi might.

When Meleana was finally discharged from the halls of healing she was itching to do something, anything. After several failed attempts at reaching Ketana, she contacted Master Windu.

She spent hours practicing lightsaber techniques with the Jedi Master before he was called away to handle other duties. Meleana tried once more to get a hold of her picturesque Jedi friend gone rogue, only to be ignored.

For the entire week she was confined to a bed all she could think of was not allowing her self to be put in that situation again. After Master Windu left she spent hours going through various forms until she was satisfied that she had done each correctly.

She stopped to take a break, seeing that the sun had set. She tried once again to contact Ketana, this time intent on asking her to come and spar with her, and once again was ignored. Meleana sighed and tucked her comlink back into her belt.

"You're still here?" A familiar voice said from the dojo's observation booth.

Meleana looked up and smiled at Obi-Wan. "You _are _stalking me."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Anakin and I passed by earlier while you were sparing with Master Windu. I'm surprised you didn't notice us."

"Where is Anakin?" Meleana asked craning to see behind Obi-Wan.

"He's gone to bed."

"Is it that late?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Thus my surprise to see you. Are you well enough to be exerting yourself like this?"

Meleana rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."

"Hmm," Obi-Wan leaned forward. "You know I think I've saved your life enough at this point to have a say in it."

Meleana arched her brow. "Is that so? And what do you think I should be doing if not training?"

"I was just on my way to the dinning hall and I'm guessing you haven't stopped to eat anything today."

"The dinning hall is no where near here. You just happened to be walking by on the opposite end of the temple?"

"I may be stalking you." There was a hint of mischievousness in his voice.

"Alright, I'll have dinner with you, but you have to promise to spar with me tomorrow, and I expect you to stay at least one hundred meters away from me until then."

"I think I can manage that."

Meleana and Obi-Wan had nearly finished their meals when Meleana noticed a familiar face entering the dinning hall, or at least it appeared to be at first.

Meleana muttered a curse under her breath, in the middle of Obi-Wan's speech.

"Is it that upsetting that I dislike Correllian liquors?"

Meleana turned back to him. "Not you, but on the subject of Correllians…" Meleana shook her head and looked back up at Crissida. "I can't believe her!"

"Who?"

"Excuse me," Meleana said getting up and storming across the dinning hall. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked Crissida, who was dressed in Ketana's clothing with the hood covering her face. "Are you out of your Novaing mind?"

"Meleana, right?"

"What in the name of the force are you doing here! No wonder Ketana's been acting strange! How long have you been impersonating her?"

Crissida gave the angry Jedi an almost obnoxious look. "she said I could stay. It's not your problem, so just mind your business."

"Not my problem? I just spent the better part of a month locked in a cell and came very close to death, because my mission partner was too distracted to notice I'd disappeared. I'd say it's my problem. I take it no one but Ketana knows you're here?" Crissida nodded at her. "And how long do you think you can keep this up? It took me a day to notice you. When Ketana's Master gets back she wont even need to see you to know something's up. And the fact that you would have the audacity to go parading around dressed up like a Jedi while avoiding your prison sentence in the _Jedi_ temple…. Don't even get me started."

"You've already started."

"Give me one good reason not to march both of you up to the council right now." Meleana crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shouldn't you talk to Ketana first?"

"Well see I would if she'd answer any of my calls, or the door when I knocked on it. I cannot believe she would be so stupid!"

"You're causing a scene."

Meleana glared at Crissida. "Go back upstairs and tell Ketana that I'm going to deal with her before any of the Masters have a chance to, and if she ever wants to earn the title of Knight she's going to need to do some serious reflecting on her current situation."

"Can I get something to eat first?"

"No." Meleana stared at her challengingly until she finally backed off and retreated from the dinning hall. Meleana returned to her table and sat back down with a frustrated sigh.

"Everything alright?" Obi-Wan asked watching her stab angrily at the food on her plate.

"No," Meleana took a deep breath and dropped her fork to her plate with a loud clang. "I need to get some sleep. I can't think straight right now. Good night."

Obi-Wan kept his eyes on Meleana as she stalked out of the dinning hall, wondering what could have caused her to get so frustrated so quickly. Following her to see if she was alright crossed his mind, but she had asked him to remain one hundred meters away from her after dinner.

The next day Obi-Wan left Anakin in the temples archive room to work on his general studies. Slaves weren't exactly given the best education, and holos were better than he was at retelling historical events. Assuming Anakin actually sat though all of them.

Meleana had left the night before without giving him a time frame for there sparring match. It took him longer than he'd like to admit to finally come to terms with the fact that he had spent the better part of a morning sitting in his quarters waiting for her to call. He shook his head, not sure what had come over him, and picked up his comlink.

"Yes?" Meleana snapped.

"You're busy, I'm sorry to have bothered you." In the back of Obi-Wan's mind he was chastising himself for being so timid. He couldn't remember the last time he'd behaved that way.

"No Obi-Wan," Meleana stopped him before he could shut off his comlink. "I'm in the middle of something. Meet me in the dinning hall in about an hour?"

"Sure." He heard Meleana shut off her comlink and clipped his back onto his belt. "What is wrong with me?" He asked aloud.

"Looking for your Padawan?" Garen asked as he approached Obi-Wan, who hadn't noticed him walk in, or up to the table in the dinning hall.

Obi-Wan turned to him. "No, just waiting for someone."

Garen took a seat and noticed Obi-Wan had no food in front of him. "You're not eating?"

Obi-Wan continued to scan the entrances to the room. The lunch time rush had started and he didn't want Meleana to miss him. "I'm waiting for someone. I'm not eating until they get here."

Garen shrugged. "You can always eat twice." Garen watched Obi-Wan silently for a few minutes. "So how was your mission Garen? Oh it was good thank you Obi-Wan. How have you been? I've been sitting here waiting for someone."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow and turned to Garen. "Do I get to participate in this conversation?"

"Hopefully, at some point, you will. Who are you waiting for? And do they know you're waiting for them? Because if they do they'll find you."

"She's late."

Garen waited for Obi-Wan to elaborate. He didn't. "Is it Siri?"

"No… Why?"

"You've got that look about you. It's an incredibly obvious look by the way, I'd tone it down if I were you."

"What look?" Obi-Wan asked, annoyed both that Garen had called him on it, and that he was so transparent.

"The look you've given Siri since you two were teenagers."

"I told you it's not Siri."

"Daryn then?"

Obi-Wan's mouth dropped. "Really? Am I really that transparent?"

Garen swallowed a mouthful of food. "To me you are. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. So it is Daryn?"

"No! It's no one."

"The busty brunette?"

"The…." Obi-Wan buried his face in his hands. "Honestly?"

"The pretty Knight you made me sit with? Cute, but very serious aristocratic features, long brown hair, big violet eyes, and not afraid to flaunt her… assets, that one?"

Obi-Wan felt his cheeks flush. "I feel like we're thirteen again."

"Well I wouldn't, Oafy-Wan wasn't exactly a nickname that made women's hearts flutter, and if it is the brunette you're waiting for she's standing over there looking for you."

"Wonderful, just after I've lost every shred of my dignity."

"We can always trade places again. If you're her type I'm her type right?"

"Garen!" Obi-Wan said peeking up at him from beneath his hands. "This isn't funny."

"For you, I think it's hilarious." He waved until he had Meleana's attention. "I will never understand your relationships with women."

"Now is really not the time to have this conversation," Obi-Wan said composing him self. "Besides, I've already decided we can't see each other anymore."

"That's a portion of what I don't understand. I'd say if she can handle the emotional detachment…" Garen smiled at Meleana as she took a seat. "Hello," he said cheerfully.

Meleana smiled at Garen then at Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was handling some unpleasantness."

"It's alright. I was worried you'd be waiting for me. I got caught up with Anakin."

Garen hid his grin by taking a swig from his drink. "Well I've got things to do." He pat Obi-Wan on the shoulder. "I'll see you later."

"You don't have any food?" Meleana asked.

"No… I was waiting for you."

Meleana looked off into the distance as though she were watching her problematic morning replay itself. "I don't know what made me think I'd have an appetite after that."

"After what?"

Meleana looked around the room. "I don't really want to talk about it here. Too many prying ears with Jedi hearing. Let's go back to my ship? I can cook something for you if you're hungry."

Obi-Wan stood up. "No that's fine."

"Is it because of my cooking?" Meleana asked as they walked out of the dinning hall. "Because I have a recipe."

"A recipe?" He asked with a smile.

"Well… I have a few, but something gets lost in translation with most of them."

"What language is you cook book in?"

"Basic," Meleana said with a giggle.

It amazed Obi-Wan that she had so quickly gone from stressed out and serious to giggling over her sub-par cooking. "And this one recipe what is it?"

"Cold noodles with mixed vegetables and sauce. I have to cut the vegetables, cook the noodles and make the sauce, yet somehow, it almost always turns out fine."

"It doesn't sound like there is too much possibility for failure in that one."

"The sauce can go terribly wrong."

Meleana tossed her robe onto the booth in the _Jaded Star_ and headed for the kitchen. Obi-Wan did the same. He stopped her before she could actually start cooking anything.

"Meleana I… I'm not really hungry."

Meleana bat her eyelashes at him. "So you lured me back here under false pretenses?"

"Not really, you invited me."

"What's the matter?" She asked seeing something was troubling him.

He kissed her, rather than answer her question. His mind was telling him he'd already allowed himself to go too far with her, his body was pinning her against the cooling unit. He broke the kiss momentarily to speak. "We shouldn't see each other any more."

"Ok." Meleana said before he crushed her lips again.

His hands had already slid under her shirt when he pulled himself away again. "I mean it."

"Ok," Meleana said again, this time a little more insistently. "Stop it with the mixed signals."

"So you're alright with that?"

"Pinning me to the cooler or not wanting to see me any more?" Meleana asked, genuinely confused.

"The latter."

Meleana nodded. "Yeah I'm fine with it. Generally though, I don't get 'I don't want to see you any more' mixed with passionate kissing and groping."

"Its nothing you did."

"Obi-Wan, I'm fine with it really. I'm not going to lie, I'll miss the sex, but you aren't the only man in the galaxy."

"So that's it then?"

"Did you want something else?"

He stitched his brow, she was much better than he was at being emotionally detached in these situations. "Typically there's more emotion."

"I'm sorry?" Meleana's confusion was only increasing as he went on. "Do you need to cry or something? I won't tell anyone if you do."

"No… I just mean… never mind. I should probably go."

Meleana shrugged. "If that's what you want."

"It isn't necessarily what I want," Obi-Wan said stopping him self before he could finish leaving the kitchen.

"Then stay?" Meleana raised one of her arched brows at him. "Are you feeling alright?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and shook his head. "Yes I'm fine. I should go." He turned and quickly left the kitchen.

Meleana looked at the door, expecting him to come back in and babble incoherently. After a minute had past she opened the cooling unit and pulled out a bottle of juice.

"You're really alright with this?" Obi-Wan asked appearing at the door.

Meleana gave him a concerned stare. "You're really starting to worry me. You should probably go before you embarrass yourself… any more."

"Right, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Meleana set the juice down on the counter. "Obi-Wan… How can I put this delicately...? Men are like missions; you get them done and move on to the next one. Do you get hysterical after every mission?"

"No."

"See my point?"

"Yes."

Meleana fixed her purple eyes on him trying to discern what exactly he was thinking. "Should I pour you a drink or are you leaving? It's really up to you. I'm fine either way."

"I really should go."

Meleana rolled her eyes when he had finally left. No matter how much wisdom she gained, she was sure she'd never understand men.


	13. Chapter 13

**-13-**

Meleana had just taken a seat with her cup of juice when her buzzer rang. "Force what now?" she muttered. She was beginning to miss the prescribed rest in the halls of healing.

She set her juice down on the table and answered the door. Ketana nearly pushed her down to get inside.

"If you wanted in that badly the door was unlocked," Meleana said shutting the door.

"I wanted to talk to you before I lost my nerve. I found a place for Crissida to live, but I need your help. She would only agree to move out if we could promise her some sort of protection."

"Which we can't," Meleana cut in.

"Not forever just until everything dies down. Just listen to me, will you? I found her an apartment right near the temple I just have a few things I need your help with."

Meleana walked back over to the booth and picked up her drink. "What would that be?"

"For one thing I need you to escort her there, since we can't be seen together leaving the temple. And I need you to pay for the apartment."

"So you want me to get caught smuggling your sister out, and you want me to draw money from an account that, while set up in my name, is available to any and all _Jedi_ who need it?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't you do any of this?"

"If they see us together it will be a dead give away. If you get caught just blame everything on me. Tell them you were trying to keep me out of trouble."

"Which will help how? I'll still get reprimanded for it."

"You're a Knight, I'm a Padawan. There is no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to deal with me. Just tell them you didn't think the problem had escalated to the point where it would have been necessary to bother a Master with it."

Meleana shut her eyes while she weighed her options. "Alright, fine, I'll do it, but only because I want to see you without a Padawan braid one of these days. Once we're sure no one is trying to kill her, that's it, you two are done. Understood?"

"Yes," Ketana thrust a durasheet into Meleana's hand. "Here is all of the information on the apartment. Thank you so much I owe you!"

Meleana looked over the durasheet. "You don't owe me anything. Just make sure she hurries up and gets down here."

"Thank you!" Ketana said again as she raced out of Meleana's ship.

Meleana sat back down with a sigh. She was beginning to think it would be better to just avoid people altogether.

Crissida was standing in front of the _Jaded Star_ less than an hour later.

"Thank you for doing this," Crissida said as Meleana lead her out of the temple and onto the bustling Coruscant streets.

"Don't thank me just yet. If you think I'm letting you get off the hook so easily…" Meleana was interrupted by someone shouting her name. She looked towards the source of the sound to see Rendain running towards them.

"I've being trying to get a hold of you all week!" he said when he'd finally caught up to them.

"Did you try my comlink?" Meleana asked, knowing he hadn't.

"Well… No. I tried to get in to see you, they wouldn't let me in."

"You do fit a loose description of someone trying to kill me." They continued walking towards the apartment building as they spoke. "What is it you need?"

Rendain gave her a sly smile. "I may be having a little trouble with my ship."

"Trouble?"

"Let's just say it's out of commission at the moment. I was hoping you might let me sleep in yours. It's a welcome alternative to the streets of Coruscant."

"You've been sleeping on the streets?" Meleana suddenly got an idea. "So you need a place to stay?"

Rendain nodded.

She looked back at Crissida. "And you need someone to protect you."

"Why would Ketana need someone to protect her?" Rendain asked with a frown.

"Look again," Meleana said.

"Oh…"

"You're going to leave a random homeless man in charge of protecting me? Did Ketana explain the sorts of bounty hunters that would be coming after me?"

Meleana rolled her eyes, she wasn't in the mood to get complaints from either on of them. "You're lucky I'm not leaving you in the capable hands of Coruscant Security forces, but he isn't just a random homeless man. Rendain is an adept healer who can hold his own in a fight."

Rendain gave her a questioning glance. "Have you seen me fight?"

"You're not helping and this isn't up for debate. You two are both completely at my mercy. I say things will work out best for both of you if you buddy up. You're alternatives are not happy ones."

"That's not terribly Jedi-like," Rendain said, not sure why he was arguing with her.

"How so? You both have problems that I am resolving for you, for no other reason than to see the two of you go on to live long happy lives. I'm not trying to bend you to my will. I personally won't dole out any punishments to either of you. You've both put yourselves in the positions you're in. If you want my help those are my conditions. Take it or leave it."

Crissida and Rendain looked at each other. "Fine," They said in unison.

Meleana's comlink began to buzz on her belt. "Jedi Ariadne."

"We have a mission for you," Master Windu's voice chimed through to comlink. "It shouldn't take long, its here on Coruscant. I've sent all the details to your datapad. Your mission partner will meet you there."

Meleana scrunched her nose, she was sick of mission partners. "Thank you Master. May the force be with you." She clipped her comlink back on her belt and looked at her companions. "I've got to go." She pressed the durasheet with the apartment information into Rendain's palm. "Please call me only as a last resort. I mean it."

"I love you too!" Rendain said enthusiastically.

Meleana ignored him, fixed instead on her mission details. "I'm going shopping!" she said happily. She waved at her companions and trotted off happily towards the upper levels of Coruscant.

As part of the clean up from her last mission, Meleana had been assigned to investigate a very exclusive high end club on Coruscant. Ones only the very famous, very rich, or very royal were allowed in to. According to Meleana's mission briefing they had on file the finger prints of every royal from every Republic, and major outer rim systems. Meleana's royal birth, plus previous involvement with the slavers made her the perfect candidate for the mission. The fact that she was so perfectly suited for this mission made her wonder why the council had sent another Jedi to go along with her, particularly since it could potentially complicate things.

Getting dressed up had always seemed like a strange ritual to Meleana. She'd had to look put together before, but never queenly. She found styling her hair and getting her eye makeup just right took every ounce of Jedi patience she could muster. When she had finally finished, she thought the end result was a person who looked stuck up, unapproachable, and completely full of herself; which, she assumed, was exactly what a bratty princess would look like.

She'd woven strands of jewels into her hair, which trailed down her back and sparkled against her formfitting pale pink gown. She slipped on her uncomfortable looking shoes just as the buzzer for her ship rang. She opened it to find a droid on the other side.

She slipped into what must have been the most expensive limo she'd ever seen. "Where is the other Jedi?" She asked the droid.

"Still preparing him self mistress," The droid responded from the driver's seat of the limo.

Meleana imagined the task of getting dressed up was even more daunting for a male Jedi than it was a female. She already missed her utility belt, tunic and lightsaber. They'd been informed that no weapons of any kind were allowed in the club, and given all of the security screening was mechanical, there wouldn't be a way for the Jedi to talk their way into keeping their lightsabers.

Meleana fumbled with her giant jewel crusted necklace, something she'd convinced a jeweler to lend her, and stared at her reflection in the limos window. She preferred herself with messy hair and Jedi robes over the dolled up princess that was staring back at her.

Her reflection disappeared as the door to the speeder opened. The over dressed Jedi on the other side froze when he saw her.

"Garen," Meleana said taking a second to recognize him. "I really must look unapproachable with this many credits on."

Garen smiled nervously and slid into the speeder. "Not at all, you look lovely." He turned away from her as the speeder began pulling away from the temple. "Awkwardly so," he added under his breath.

"What?" Meleana asked with a giggle. "I don't see why it should be awkward."

Garen paused, clearly Meleana's thought process was not following the same path as his and he wasn't sure he wanted to steer her down that road. "I'm just not used to seeing a Jedi," he held out his hand towards her. "Did you say, wearing so many credits?"

"I think this necklace alone could buy a star ship, a big star ship."

"So, you're a princess?" Garen asked, not wanting to ride to the club in an awkward silence.

Meleana nodded. "Wasn't my background in your mission briefing?"

"It was, I was just trying to make conversation." Garen turned to look out the window to prevent him self from staring at her. "How did your lunch go?"

"Hmm? Oh…" Meleana paused not sure Obi-Wan would appreciate her talking about the embarrassing event that had occurred that afternoon. "You should ask Obi-Wan."

"Have I done something to offend you?"

Meleana felt her curls slap her face when she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I just don't think Obi-Wan would want me talking about this afternoon. Has he been acting strangely around you?"

Not when you aren't around, Garen wanted to say. "Not that I've noticed."

Meleana sensed there was something he wasn't telling her, but decided to let it be. "I hope this doesn't go wrong."

"Why would it go wrong?"

"Every mission I've been on lately has gone horribly wrong. I'm beginning to doubt my competence."

"That won't help anything," Garen turned from the window to look at her. "How could it go wrong? All we need to do is go in, see if there are any slaves, and leave."

"The fact that the mission is so simple is even more troublesome. The last thing I want to do is mess up an easy mission… another easy mission. Really all it will take is one person who knows I'm not exactly an active member of Bierna's royal family to make things go terribly awry. And anyone in any of the surrounding systems will know there aren't any living members of my family in power at the moment."

"You certainly know a lot about your history."

"My last mission with my Master was to my home world. We were supposed to help negotiate peace between the rebels and the acting queen."

"How did it go?"

"Horribly wrong, we were dismissed by the Queen, who wouldn't stop accusing me of trying to usurp her crown, and the rebels kept trying to convince me to take over the world. Then a bounty hunter killed my Master and left me half drowned and near death at the bottom of a cliff," Meleana's tone was surprisingly cheerful given the grizzly subject matter.

"Were you even the slightest bit tempted? Being Queen does have its perks."

Meleana vehemently shook her head. "Not in the slightest. Billions of people depending on me to sort out their lives and fix their problems? No thank you."

"As opposed to being a Jedi and having trillions of people expecting you to fix their problems with none of the perks?"

"Jedi have their own perks and restrictions. I think it's outrageous the way some in the order abuse those perks and that that is more acceptable than dabbling in certain restrictions."

"I have a feeling this could be a long conversation."

Meleana gave him a half smile. "I don't think we have the time to get into it right now."

"Speaking of perks, you have a starship?"

Meleana nodded. "It was a training exercise."

"I was part of the Jedi starfighter piloting program."

"Never heard of it," Meleana said as gently as she could. "I was probably too young to keep up on that sort of thing. I was never really passionate about starships or piloting for that matter, like I said, my Master made me do it. I had to build that ship from scraps. He gave me a frame, sat me down in the archives, and told me not to come out until I'd figured out what I was doing. Then I had to track down all the parts… it was a long drawn out ordeal."

Garen turned in his seat to face her. "What about now? Have your piloting skills improved?"

"I think you'll just have to go up against me in a simulator to find out." Meleana looked down towards the lower levels of Coruscant as the limo ascended. "It's funny that we're going to the upper level for this."

"Crime is everywhere."

Meleana squinted to see how far down her vision would reach. "Somewhere down there is a young girl who was forced into prostitution, but that's not large scale enough to get Jedi involved, too wide spread for the other authorities. Drug dealers are preying on young people, people down on their luck… If there are slaves in this club, there is no way someone wasn't aware of it. The rich buy peoples silence and the poor can't afford to be heard."

Garen looked at the city bellow them. "You're not wrong, but I don't think things are as bleak as you're making them out to be."

"No, not for everyone," Meleana omitted the rest of her theory, assuming Garen would get the point.

Garen agreed with her, but there was too much injustice in the galaxy for even the Jedi to fix. Dwelling on it only made the work they did do seem meaningless. "The scanners at the club won't know you're a Jedi, will they?"

Meleana shook her head. "No, they only go off of the information in public records. The Jedi removed any mention of me after coming to Coruscant and added in a few new details. Didn't you read the mission brief?"

"For the most part," he said with a shrug. "I'd assumed we would use this time to go over the details."

"You certainly waited long enough. I'm a spoiled rotten princess with a history of partying to hard, and you are my on again off again boyfriend, who is the son of a wealthy business man from Dedra, one of Bierna's neighboring systems. People of my home world are known for their fiery tempers, tendency towards over indulgence of all things, and nudity."

"Known for their nudity?"

"It's a very free country… at least it was. At any rate in this version of my planets history I am not a Jedi, I'm a princess who would rather burn through money than rule, and so I have left the job of Queen to my step mother."

"And I am?"

"You're dating a princess who likes to over indulge, spend money, and get naked. How hard can your role possibly be to play?" Meleana shook her head at the amused look on Garen's face. She pulled her datapad out of the small handbag she was carrying and opened up a file she had made on all of the neighboring systems politicians. "These are all the people we need to avoid, well at least the obvious ones I could find in an afternoon. There are a few from Bierna that I might recognize; otherwise we just have to hope no one in there knows much about my planet."

"Does it matter that I skipped the part of the briefing that included the history of your planet?" Garen asked with a slightly embarrassed smile. It had taken him so long to get himself ready that he hadn't had the time to read the mission brief in detail.

"Not really, but did you skip the portion of the brief that included the history of your home planet?"

Garen nodded with a pained expression. "Most of it."

"Then read, quickly."

The limo pulled up at the top floor of a large modern building. There was nothing outside that would indicate there was an exclusive club inside. Garen slid out of the limo and offered his hand to Meleana. She took it and stepped out onto the skywalk that surrounded the building. The two Jedi walked around the exterior of the building, there weren't any obvious doors or entryways.

"There," Meleana said pointing to a small seem in the wall. Meleana walked up to the crack in the wall and tapped her finger against it. An invisible panel slid open and she pressed her thumb to it.

"Welcome Princess Ariadne," A silky female voice said as the door slid open.

Meleana linked arms with Garen and walked into the entryway. There was a slight mechanical hum as scanners slid from top to bottom before the main doors opened. A jeweled chandelier was the first thing they saw as they walked into the nightclub. The club's color scheme was very neutral, all of the color came from exotic plants and lighting. Meleana looked around the room, all of the clubs white leather seats were occupied with the clubs well dressed clientele.

Meleana lead Garen towards the bar as they scanned the room for any obvious signs of slavery.

"They wouldn't be offered too openly," Garen said. "After all there are people in the republic who are offended by such things."

Meleana nodded and looked at the upper balconies of the club, all covered in sparkling backlit screens. "Up there would be the most likely place to find them."

Garen looked for the way up. Two droids stood guard over a turbolifts doors.

Meleana suppressed her usually warm greeting as the bar tender, an attractive young human male, approached them.

"How can I serve you milady?" He asked giving her a slight bow.

Meleana pouted. "I'm not sure," she looked at Garen. "Baby what do I want?"

"You want everything."

Meleana blinked at the bartender. "You heard him, everything," she snapped when he didn't move.

The bartender's eyes widened, but he obviously knew better than to argue with them. "What table shall I have the bottles sent to milady?"

Meleana gave him a catty smile and leaned forwards on the bar. "Well you see," she started in an obnoxiously cute voice. "It would seem we don't have a table. Now can you tell me why _I _wouldn't have at least a table, or better yet a private section, cleared for me as soon as my name was announced outside?"

"The Princess is not pleased." Garen said shaking his head.

"No I'm not!" she said in agreement.

Meleana tapped her foot loudly as the bartender scrambled to pull up a holo screen of reservations. "I hate this!" Meleana whined, hoping if she caused a scene she'd be given a private room without any questions. Using a Jedi mind trick would be too easily noticed at the crowded bar. "I come to the core because I want to have fun and look at how they treat me!"

"It's not right," Garen said in monotone.

"No it's not!" Meleana almost shouted. "I don't understand! I'm nice and I'm pretty and everyone just hates me!" She sounded as though she were on the verge of tears and frowned as she caught the bartenders gaze. "Why do you hate me? You don't even know me!" Meleana collapsed dramatically into Garen's chest. "Why does everyone want to hurt me!"

Garen pat Meleana on the head and gave the bartender a pleading expression.

"Uh…" The bartender clamored nervously. "We have a private room available your highness. I'll have a server bring up your order along with a complimentary dessert platter. Is there anything else I can do to serve you your highness?"

Meleana looked up from Garen's shoulder. "No that's fine thank you." She pointed towards the turbolift. "Just through there?"

"Yes your majesty, there will be a droid waiting for you upstairs to personally serve you."

Meleana nodded and walked towards the turbolift. Garen paused just long enough to slap a handful of credits down on the bar. That poor man probably had to deal with worse than this on a nightly basis.

The private room's décor looked much like the rest of the clubs. Two large white leather sofas framed a low central table, topped with another brightly colored chandelier.

"There is a control panel by the door with a list of our services and menus. Please do not hesitate to ask should you require further service I will be waiting outside your door." The silver protocol droid said.

Meleana looked at the droid with some disdain. "I want a sentient being to serve us."

Garen looked up at Meleana as he took a seat on one of the sofas. "Preferably one willing to do whatever my Princess wants and one that won't argue should she decide to take it home with her."

"I will see what kind of arrangements can be made to accommodate your request."

Meleana sat down on the sofa next to Garen. She leaned back against the arm rest to face him. "Biernan's are also not terribly fond of droids. Mostly droids are reserved for only the most repulsive tasks."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Meleana shrugged, "Probably, but nothing I can think of."

The door opened again, the protocol droid wheeled in a three layer cart filled with bottles; a second droid came in behind it with a cart filled with glasses, ice, and desserts.

"You had to order _everything_?" Meleana asked after the droids had left. She got up to pour her self a drink. She grabbed one of the larger glasses and started pouring small shots from each of the bottles into it.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm fixing you a drink. You did want everything."

"Shouldn't we be sober?"

"Will one drink have you dancing naked on the balcony?" Meleana asked with a smile as she finished Garen's special order. She tossed in an ice cube, and grabbed a piece of fruit off one of the dessert trays to stick on the edge of the glass. "We'll call it… the Garen surprise, both for the taste, and my surprise at your order."

"Wonderful," Garen took the drink from her and smelled it. It smelled toxic. "This will kill me, I'm sure."

"Don't be such a baby," Meleana sipped her drink. "If you don't drink it I will. Besides, we're supposed to be two young people out to party, a bit of drunken behavior won't seem out of the ordinary."

"We're supposed to be on a mission."

"And so we are. We're actively seeking out slaves. This mission isn't exactly life and death. All we have to do is play our parts and convince someone to give us access to the slaves, if there are any. If there aren't, then we may as well enjoy ourselves. We did get all dressed up after all."

Garen moved the drink towards his mouth, caught a whiff of it and pulled it away. "What if drinking this makes me throw up all over our pretty clothes?"

Meleana gave him a big mischievous grin. "Then we'll just have to flaunt some of that famous Biernan nudity."

Garen blushed and lifted the drink to his lips to hide his face. As he gulped down the disgusting cocktail it occurred to him that chugging his beverage was a bad idea. For one thing it would give her the impression that he wanted to see her nude, more so than his blushing would have, and he could already feel the mix of alcohols going to his head. Some how he had the feeling he'd have a few things to explain to Obi-Wan in the morning if things continued the way they were headed.

He heard Meleana giggle has he set down his half empty glass and waited for the inevitable teasing he would receive.

"Now… should I take that as a sign of your desire to cut loose or for something else?"

Garen laughed nervously, not sure what else to do. He couldn't picture Obi-Wan interacting with this woman for longer than he was required to. He stopped his thought process, noting that he had suddenly begun to justify himself by deeming Meleana ill suited for Obi-Wan.

"So how is it?"

Garen looked back at the drink. "It is awful."

Meleana leaned over and grabbed the drink. She took a sip of it and gagged. "How did you drink so much of that?"

"I thought you said if I drank it you wouldn't. I was trying to spare you the unpleasantness."

Garen watched Meleana's pink dress twirl around her ankles as she made her way back to the two carts. She picked up a bottle of clear alcohol and poured half of it out into the ice. She grabbed two shot glasses and set them down on the table along with the bottle. Meleana moved the dessert cart over to the table and unloaded the tray onto the cocktail table. She grabbed two utensils and pushed the cart back towards the door.

She sat down and poured two shots. "They need to look like they've been used." she said with a sly grin as she handed the glass to Garen.

"I'm beginning to suspect you have a problem with drinking." Garen said setting his empty shot glass down.

"I assure you I will not drink enough for it to interfere with our mission."

Meleana had just taken a huge bite of one of the desserts when there was a knock at the door. Garen stood to answer it and stepped aside to allow a well dressed man in.

"I'm Pavra Choon," he said with a bow to both Garen and Meleana. "Let me start by saying what an honor it is to have someone of your caliber as a guest in our establishment Princess Ariadne."

Meleana smiled at him and wiped the food off her face.

"I understand you are displeased with your server?" Pavra asked as Garen took a seat.

"Sit," Meleana said motioning to towards the other sofa. "Droids are so impersonal," Meleana said as he took a seat.

"Of course we can have a server of your species of choice brought up immediately, but I understand you were looking for something a little more… permanent?"

Meleana nodded. "We like Coruscant, we're thinking of staying, but in our haste to leave our home world, we forgot to bring our servants."

"I assume money is no object?" Just as Pavra finished his speaking the door opened and a droid wheeled in two more carts filled with bottles before quickly retreating.

Meleana gave Garen a side glance. "No it isn't." she said with a smile.

Pavra slipped a datapad out of his jacket pocket. "Here is a list of all of our specialized servers. Should you enjoy their company you may purchase them at the end of the night."

Meleana took the datapad from him and flipped through it. "We'll summon you again when we've made our decision."

Pavra stood and bowed. "Of course, the consol on the wall will alert me."

Meleana nodded as he walked out. "Garen… I don't think these are slaves, and my intelligence has been insulted."

"Why is that?"

"Because half of these slaves are celebrities, and I doubt they've abducted this many high profile people without anyone noticing."

"Human replica droids," Garen said looking over her shoulder at the screen. "So why would the slavers send us out here?"

"Maybe they modeled some of the not-so-famous droids out of slaves? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem like they're selling slaves here."

"Unless the celebrities do paid appearances, maybe you can't take the famous servers home with you?"

Meleana turned to give Garen a shifty eyed look. "It's doubtful. I'm a princess, I get what I want. Some of these people have armies at their disposal. Why risk pissing them off by not letting them take home their favorite celebrity? Why offer them under the pretense that they are available for sale if they aren't?" Meleana put down the datapad. She walked over to the comstation on the wall and contacted Pavra. "Are these all HRD's?" She asked when he'd answered.

"Yes your majesty they are. I assure you though they are indistinguishable from their human counterparts." he said after a slight pause.

"So there is no way we can get an actual being up here?"

"Only for the evening your highness, they would need to be returned by the end of their shift. The HRD's give you many different entertainment options not offered by living beings."

Meleana looked back at Garen and muted the com. "Satisfied?"

Garen nodded curtly and finished the rest of his terrible cocktail.

"Do you know anyone in the core who might be able to supply us with beings?"

"No you're highness. I mean no offense, but I feel it is my duty to remind you that slavery is illegal in the Republic."

Meleana broke of the communication. "Good enough for me."

"You're not going to order an HRD?" Garen asked with a grin.

"No," Meleana said mixing herself a drink. "I think you've run up our tab enough for the evening."

Garen frowned and shook his head. "It can't be that bad."

Meleana held up a bottle. "This is forty thousand credits a bottle."

Garen's eyes widened. "Can we return that one?"

Meleana looked at the bottle and back at him with a wicked gleam in her eye. "No Garen, I think you should drink it." She broke the seal on the bottle before he could argue. "Come on we've finished our mission, we may as well enjoy ourselves." She sat down next to him and held the bottle out.

Garen sighed and took the bottle from her. "You're a bad influence."

"Well if the Council asks, tell them I forced you."

"I'm sure that excuse will work wonders."

Meleana got up and grabbed two handfuls of shot glasses. She took the bottle from Garen and filled each of the twelve glasses to the top. "If you finish you're first I'll give you my ship. No dribbling, spilling or half finishing, everything must be swallowed. Deal?"

"Your ship, really?"

"Unless you can think of something else you'd want. And you have to finish your shots, even if you lose."

"Why would I lose?" Garen put his hand on the first glass. "Ready when you are."

Meleana gripped her glass. "Go."

Garen heard all six of Meleana's shot glasses hit the table before he could even get through half of his. He finished his remaining shots and gave her a sour expression. "You knew I'd lose."

Meleana gave him half a shrug. "Maybe," she said innocently.

"Alright one more try, all or nothing."

Meleana raised her brow. "Really? You want to lose twice and vomit in the same night?" Meleana picked up the bottle when he nodded. "So what do I get out of this?"

"What do you want?" Garen asked, his speech already beginning to slur. He watched Meleana stare thoughtfully up at the chandelier. "I'm not sure I trust the look in your eyes."

Meleana looked at Garen and smiled. "I'm not sure what I want… I guess you'll owe me."

"Then get pouring."

Several hours later Meleana's comlink was barely audible over the loud music blasting through the private lounge. Empty bottles and half eaten deserts cluttered the large white cocktail table.

"There's that noise again," Garen said. He was leaned against the arm of the sofa opposite Meleana. He kicked her leg. "Don't you hear that?"

Meleana shook her head. "You've lost it. I don't know if you even had it, but it's definitely gone now." Meleana tilted her head back and laughed. "The room is twirling."

"Yeah it is," Garen said in agreement.

Meleana stared at the ceiling for several minutes before talking again. "I'm attractive right?"

"You are very attractive," Garen sounded a little more enthused than he had intended to even in his drunken state.

Meleana looked up at him. "So if you were having no strings attached mind blowing sex with me, why would you pin me to a cooling unit and tell me you never wanted to see me again."

"Oh… I didn't do that."

"No Obi-Wan did… and now I'm really…" Meleana sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I was really starting to like him! Why would he do something like that?"

Garen shook his head. "If I were having mind blowing sex with you I would never stop pining you to the cooling unit."

"I know! Does Obi-Wan like boys?"

"Maybe…" Garen said with a shrug.

Meleana sat up and slid closer to Garen. She leaned against his propped up knees. "I thought of the favor I want from you."

"Oh," Garen said nervously as Meleana pushed his legs apart and lay out on his chest.

"No ones ever broken up with me before. I mean, a few have run away screaming, but that was always my Masters fault."

Garen's throat tightened as Meleana's hand ran up his thigh. "So what is it I'm doing?"

"I need you to critique me," she said in a serious tone before turning her head to nip gently at his ear lobe. "You have grounds for comparison don't you?"

"Yes," he moaned as she bit gently at his neck.

Meleana turned around in his lap and kissed his lips. "Do you want me?" She asked on a breath.

Garen moaned affirmatively and kissed her again. He pushed her away again a second later. "This is wrong."

"I'm sorry," Meleana said, her voice was genuinely panicked. "Was it that bad?"

"No," Garen shook his head and quickly pulled his hands off her chest. "It's not you, it's Obi-Wan."

"You're in love with Obi-Wan!"

"No!" Garen sat up on the arm of the sofa to distance himself from her. "It's the other way around."

"He's in love with you?"

"Try again!"

Meleana shook her head. "What are you talking about!" Meleana's comlink started buzzing again inside her small handbag.

"What is that sound!"

Meleana picked up her handbag and pulled out the comlink. "Yes?"

"Oh thank the force!" Rendain was barely audible over the loud music. "Someone is trying to kill us!"

Meleana grumbled. "Alright fine we'll be there soon. Are you still at the apartment?"

"We're in the general vicinity. Sorry it's a little hard to pin point where we're going to be when we're running for our lives."

"We'll be there soon." Meleana put her comlink away and stumbled to her feet. "We need to go. Someone is trying to kill my friends." Meleana dumped all the credits in her handbag onto the table and jumped off the balcony into the main portion of the club.

Garen followed and, after crashing into a few tables and club patrons, they were back on the streets of Coruscant.

Meleana looked at the limo and back at Garen who had nearly fallen off the skywalk. "Should we let the droid drive?"

"No, I can do it," Garen said with a wave of his hand. He opened the passenger side door to the limo and shooed the droid into the back seat.

Meleana slid into the passenger seat when Garen had taken the controls.

"Drive towards the temple," Meleana said.

Garen sped off, a bit faster than he had intended to. He could tell he wasn't up to his usual standards. He could sense the tension in Meleana as he narrowly missed another speeder.

"Slow down!"

"But someone is trying to kill my friend! I mean your friend." Garen plowed through a sign and immediately slowed down.

"And they're going too if you kill us!"

"I've slowed down! We're fine!" Garen began accelerating without noticing.

"You're still well over the speed limit!" Meleana griped as she reached for her safety belt.

"People are going to die!"

"We're going to kill them!" Meleana winced as they narrowly avoided another collision.

"You are distracting me!"

"Well you're a terrible pilot!"

Meleana looked at the streets. They were approaching the temple and she found herself unable to recall exactly how to get to the apartment building. It wasn't until Garen was in the intersection that she remembered the location of the apartments.

"Go left!" Meleana shouted as though she'd had some great epiphany.

Without thought Garen veered to the left and straight into oncoming traffic. He turned the speeder in the opposite direction fishtailing the rear of the long limo into the nearby sky walk. He couldn't stop the speeder quickly enough to avoid hitting one of the terrified pedestrians.

"Now you've done it!" Meleana rolled down the window and looked out at Garen's victim. The alien was getting to his feet, apparently uninjured, but definitely unhappy. "You're lucky he had an exoskeleton!" Meleana waved him on. "Go on, slowly this time."

"Are you always this critical?" Garen asked merging carefully back into traffic.

"It's constructive criticism."

Garen rolled his eyes. "Now I'm beginning to understand why you and Obi-Wan got along so well."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No."

"Well if we got along so well then why did he break up with me?"

"I seem to recall one of you saying you weren't in a relationship, but I can't remember which one of you said it."

"There they are!" Meleana shouted catching blaster fire out of the corner of her eye. She spotted Rendain's lanky form rushing to pull Crissida into a small ally away from their attacker. "There!" Meleana shouted and pointed when Garen didn't turn. "Down the ally!" Thinking he was about to pass the ally way all together Meleana leapt out of the limo. She landed clumsily on the skywalk and fell forward onto her knees.

Garen had already started to turn the clumsy vehicle when Meleana jumped. Suddenly worried he'd hit he pulled over to the other side of the skywalk. Garen failed to stop in time, not seeing the wall of the building in front of him. His head slammed into the hard surface in front of him as the speeder ground into the wall and slid down the ally.

Across the way one of the bounty hunters pointed their blaster at Meleana. She reached for her lightsaber instinctively and cursed when she remembered it wasn't there. The bolt was already flying towards her when she finally began to move. The shot grazed her shoulder. She was distracted from the burning pain in her shoulder when her body slid across the floor. She metal screech against metal as her face slid across the pavement of the skywalk. She looked up towards the bounty hunter, who'd been pinned between the limo and the nearest building. He was still alive and struggled futilely against the machine.

In his frustration the bounty hunter aimed his blaster at the unconscious driver. Meleana waved her hand and pushed him back before he had a chance to fire. The bounty hunter's head slammed into the wall behind him hard enough to create another crater in it then landed with a heavy thud on the hood of the speeder.

Meleana looked over at Rendain and Crissida, who'd come out of their hiding spot and were staring at her with wide questioning eyes.

Meleana pointed at Rendain. "You make sure he's ok," she slurred waving her hands towards the wreckage across the street. Meleana wrapped an arm around Crissida. "My legs are like noodles. Delicious."

Crissida perked her brow at the drunken Jedi. "Is this normal for a Jedi?"

"Nah… I'm dressed all fancy." Meleana looked at the shorter woman. "Oh you mean the drink? Yeah. I mean, no. Its just… we had to do it for work. We needed to sell it."

Meleana looked away from Crissida towards the shouting coming from the speeder.

"Jedi business officer! Move along!" Garen waved his hand at the pale man leaning next to him, but hadn't remembered to put any force behind the gesture. "People's lives need me."

Rendain cocked his head at Garen as he inspected the gash on his forehead. He felt he should say something to calm the hysterical Jedi down, but wasn't sure what. "That's very sharp attire for a Jedi," he finally blurted in a casual tone.

Garen furrowed his brow. Was this security officer flirting with him? "I'm not looking for you. I had a girl in this speeder." The man gripped both his arms firmly and pulled him to his feet. "No, she's real. She wants to have sex with me," Garen fell forward onto the rather tall man's chest. "I'm not though… why does he get all the pretty ones first? Its not right. Its wrong." He looked around and saw Meleana leaning against a brown haired girl across the street. "It's that one."

"She sleeps with all the pretty girls?" Rendain shrugged, that made enough sense to be plausible.

"No… do you think its ok? I mean just once? He did tell her no. I won't talk about it."

"It's not ok." Rendain said supporting Garen as they walked down the skywalk. "I'm Rendain by the way, and I also like pretty girls."

"Well I don't think that's fair. I can't have her, but you can't just step right in. That's not right."

"Oh trust me, I am the last man on Coruscant that would be in anyway attracted to that young woman."

Garen looked back as they continued to walk and noticed Meleana and the brunette were following. He wondered where they were going, but worried if he asked, and didn't like the answer, he would be unable to walk away on his own. It seemed they were being led back to the temple until the man led him into a large structure a few blocks away.

"What are we doing here?"

Rendain pressed the call button for the lift. "We need protection, and you two shouldn't be walking back into the temple in your condition."

Garen nodded. "That's a smart."

Meleana woke up with a moan. She turned her face towards whatever she was sleeping on to avoid the morning sun. She sat up straight when she felt her pillow breathing. She looked around. She'd passed out in a corner on top of Garen. They were in an unfurnished room. The window pouring sun on her had a stunning view of the Jedi temple. Meleana gently shook Garen's shoulder.

"Garen," she said in a hoarse voice.

Garen opened his eyes slowly then closed them again when the sun hit his eyes. "Where are we?"

"I think we're in my friend's apartment. We should probably get back to the temple, they'll be wondering why they haven't heard from us."

Garen swallowed hard and sat up. "How are we going to explain our hangovers?"

"I'd be more worried about explaining the makeup all over the crotch of your pants."

Garen opened his eyes and looked down. "I can't explain that."

Meleana leaned against the wall next to him. "Maybe we should just call them." she said, not wanting to deal with any Jedi Masters.

Garen peered out the window; it looked to be late in the afternoon. "How are we going to explain the delay?"

"Why do you keep bringing these things up?" Meleana grumbled.

"Well inevitably they're going to ask, how was the mission? What took you so long to report back? What's wrong with you two? And why is their makeup on your crotch?"

She got to her feet with a frustrated sigh and got to her feet. "Don't worry I'm sure they'll blame me for everything."


	14. Chapter 14

-14-

It was several months before Meleana was given another assignment. She wasn't even summoned to the briefing room, the mission details were sent to her data pad within hours of the mission team's departure time. After checking the time and place she was supposed to meet the rest of the team she skipped down to the briefing on the planet they were headed too. She hadn't even finished reading the name of the planet before her comlink went off.

She answered it and sighed. Crissida was calling. Another bounty hunter had chased her half way across Coruscant, and Ketana was on a mission. If Meleana hurried she might be able to make it to her, and get to the mission departure point on time. She hardly had time to pack a bag though, not if it might cost Crissida her life.

Meleana arrived late to the departure point, if she'd known she was going to be late anyway she would have packed a change of clothes. The bounty hunter hadn't gone down without a fight. She was covered in blood, dirt, and a few nasty stains she wasn't too sure of. There was one Jedi waiting outside the ship with his arms crossed. He was a human male, a few inches taller than Meleana. Judging by the roughness of his skin and the white speckling his hair she guessed him to be in his mid-fifties.

"Jedi Ariadne?"

"Yes Master…" Meleana paused; she hadn't had time to look up the name Jedi Master in charge of the mission.

"Marion, I take it you did not spend your extra time memorizing your briefing."

Meleana swallowed hard, the Master's gray eyes were burning holes through her. "No Master, I was-"

"I don't care what you were doing," he snapped. "I hand picked every Jedi on this mission, including you against the wishes of several other Masters. I hope this will be the last time you disappoint me." He looked her over and noticed she hadn't brought any bags. He didn't say anything, but shot her a look of disdain before boarding the waiting craft.

Meleana followed, unsure of where to go. The ship wasn't very large, it was just big enough to transport the group of eight Jedi. Meleana was relieved when the Jedi Master pointed to a door as they passed and told her it lead to her quarters. Wherever they were going it wasn't in the core if they had private quarters. Meleana opened the door, much to her chagrin the rooms were shared.

Latira looked up at her from one of the beds, she seemed equally unhappy to see her.

"I see you decided to show up."

"I was tied up," Almost literally, she thought to herself.

Meleana was sure Latira had no interest in trying to be civil, she didn't see any reason to try and keep polite conversations going. She was trying to decide whether to stay or go explore the rest of the ship, given what a mess she was she would attract a lot of attention.

"You know I was flattered to be hand picked by a Master so soon after being knighted, until I heard you were on this mission."

Meleana ignored Latira. She _really_ needed to read her mission briefing if she had any hope of salvaging her credibility. She sat down on the second bed and pulled out her datapad.

"Did you even read the mission briefing?" Latira asked in a rude tone, "Because we were told to bring a pretty wide array of things, and you don't even have a change of clothes."

Meleana let out a frustrated sigh. "I got the mission this morning. A friend of mine needed help. I spent all day tracking, then fighting a bounty hunter, so no I didn't read the mission briefing, and yes I was late, and I didn't think letting my friend die so I could pack a bag was rational. I'd like to read the mission report now, so please let me do that."

"It's not my fault your time management skills are lacking."

"Really, we're going to bicker like children? Don't you have something more important to do? And if you think so little of me, why are you still so obsessed with hating me after a nearly decade?"

"This isn't about Unis, this is about you being a spoiled little princess. Better people than you weren't chosen as Padawan's, or waiting years longer to become Knights. You're proof that even the Jedi can be bought off at a high enough price."

Meleana rolled her eyes. "I'm going to sit here and read, please leave me alone."

"I think I saw a few of your friends here. I didn't catch their names," Latira said. She wanted to keep Meleana from her reading. She could either deal with constant interruption or go somewhere else.

"I'll be sure to go say hello as soon as I finish my reading."

"The two men and the little boy you sat with, after you came over to my table in the dinning hall to rub your Knighting in my face."

"I wasn't…" Meleana trailed off, realizing she was talking about Obi-Wan. She hadn't seen him since he'd called things off. She would never admit it, but she'd missed him. "Did they mention me?" She knew by the look on Latira's face that she'd asked a little too desperately.

"One of them seemed a little put off when I brought you up, the one with the Padawan."

Meleana sighed and kept reading. No reason to try to pry information out of Latira, she couldn't be trusted to tell the truth if she thought she could get a rise out of Meleana. The room was quiet long enough for her to get a few paragraphs into the mission report.

"So which one of them did you sleep with?"

Meleana turned away from her data pad and blinked at Latira. "Both of them, at the same time while the Padawan filmed it," she said deadpan. She couldn't help but smirk at the look on Latira's face. "If you'd like we can watch it while the four of us fuck."

That ought to shut her up, Meleana thought and went back to her reading. It was a long time before Latira made another peep, and then it was an offended huff before she stormed out of the room.

Meleana breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed back onto her mattress.

That night all of the Jedi met to discuss the mission. Meleana arrived first, not wanting Master Marion to think she had a tendency towards lateness. She took a seat near the end of the table and waited for the other Jedi to shuffle in. She'd cleaned herself up, but her clothes were still filthy, and Latira had refused to lend her any, claiming Meleana would stretch them out.

When everyone had arrived Master Marion went around the table introducing each of the Jedi. He started with Meleana, who was seated to his immediate right, then a blue skinned twi'lek, Illyssa. All of the remaining Jedi were male once Latira had been introduced. She'd taken a seat next to Obi-Wan. Meleana wondered if she'd done it just to annoy her. Anakin, the only Padawan, was between Obi-Wan and Garen. The last Jedi knight was a togruta male named Kaelen.

Once the introductions were complete the Jedi Master began reiterating everything the mission briefing had said.

They were headed to a planet called Glycirie, it was on the edge of Republic space and very poor. The inhabitants of the planet had completely used up all of its natural resources nearly a century ago, and all of the planets wealth was poured into keeping the planets surface from becoming toxic. Anyone with any money to invest back into the world had left before the crisis began. While the planet was still habitable it suffered from extreme weather conditions that made much of the planet too dangerous to live on. The remaining population lived in the center of the worlds more temperate zones, far from any of the coasts.

A war eventually erupted over who should control what little resources the planet still possessed, most of which were imported from neighboring worlds. The war had only increased the misery of the people, four of the neighboring worlds, who'd been supporting Glycirie for the better part of the century, had intervened and had temporarily stopped the fighting.

Two of the neighboring worlds were not on friendly terms with one another. Both considered themselves to be the major power in that corner of the galaxy, and both thought their way of peace keeping was better than the others. Tensions between them had been high, now that they were both vying for power over the dying world things had gotten worse.

The Jedi were to asses the situation and decide if the world should be left alone, or left in the hands of one or more of the wealthier planets.

Meleana tried to stay focused as the other Jedi began debating the options for Glycirie, but she found no matter how hard she tried she kept focusing on Obi-Wan. She wasn't sure why she was so enamored with him. She'd never given most of the men she'd slept with a second thought, come to think of it, she'd forgotten half of their names, but looking down the table at Obi-Wan still made her heart flutter.

She tried to steer her mind back in the right direction. Latira was saying something, it could be important. It wasn't, it wasn't even intelligent, just pandering to the man in charge. Surely naughty thoughts about Obi-Wan were better than overly judgmental ones towards Latira, right?

Obi-Wan glanced over at Meleana. Her face was resting in the palm of her hand and she was staring thoughtfully at Latira, who was still droning on, it seemed to Obi-Wan she was literally talking about nothing. It sounded intelligent enough on the surface, she was well spoken, but ultimately she was saying nothing.

Not at all like Meleana, who while not always eloquent, always got to the point. He wondered if she'd thought at all of him over the past few months. Probably not, she'd made it clear he was disposable when he'd broken things off with her. Why had he done that again? He smiled slightly at her dirty clothes, that was exactly the sort of thing that would have annoyed him when he'd first met her, now he found it endearing.

Meleana looked up at Master Marion when he called her name and asked her what she thought.

"I think we should do what we can to preserve the sovereignty of the people."

"Even if that means allowing them to destroy themselves?" Master Marion challenged.

"Well if we impose foreign control, and they rebel, they'll destroy themselves anyway, and alienate their allies. Obviously we shouldn't leave them in chaos, but we can't force what's best for them down their throats. It seems too delicate an issue to really discus without talking to them first." Meleana said firmly.

Obi-Wan's heart was pounding in his chest. Why was hearing her unapologetically speak her mind to a respected Jedi Master so appealing?

"I think you are assuming a worse case scenario," Marion did not sound pleased with Meleana's view point.

Meleana furrowed her brow, "Isn't that our job?"

The Jedi Master pursed his lips, "It is our job to do what is best for the people. These people have proved throughout their history that they are not capable of taking care of themselves."

"Well then which one of the neighboring planets should we hand them over to? It sounds like you've already made up your mind."

The other Jedi in the room visibly tensed as they waited for Master Marion's rebuke to Meleana's statement.

"Perhaps when you have experienced as much as I have you will be able to see the bigger picture more clearly. Whatever we do must ensure the survival of this world over the long term. A rebellion may start, but it would be brief. If one of the more advanced worlds were able to repair the planets economy it could change the course of Glycirie's future for the better."

Meleana stared up at the Jedi Master, why had he asked for her opinion if he didn't want to hear it? She decided there was no point in saying anything else. He looked down at her before moving on to Illyssa.

After the meeting was concluded Meleana stayed in the room, which, along with the large table for dining, also housed the ships small kitchen. She'd hoped to avoid spending any more time with Latira than was absolutely necessary.

Much to Meleana's dismay the only Jedi that left the room was Master Marion, which left her in a room full of people she'd rather not talk to.

"What happened to your clothes?" Illyssa asked.

Meleana smiled nervously. "I had a busy morning."

"You didn't bring anything to change into?"

"A very busy morning."

Illyssa looked her over. "You can borrow something of mine. That will at least give you something to wear while those are being washed."

"Thank you."

"Come find me later, I'm in room three," she said before excusing herself.

Garen filled her seat a second later. "Is that young lady a friend of yours?" He asked nodding back at Latira.

"Not exactly. Why what's she saying about me?"

"Nothing really, she just keeps bringing you up to start conversations with Obi-Wan," Garen glanced back at them. "One of us should really say something. She's being so forward with her advances even Anakin is blushing."

Meleana looked over at the Padawan. He'd just grabbed something from the ships pantry and was making his way out the door.

"If Obi-Wan's that uncomfortable he'll say something."

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"You're making me uncomfortable."

"Fair enough," Garen said with a shrug.

Meleana watched Latira's body language. She was becoming increasingly flirty now that only the four of them were left in the room. She wasn't sure why it bothered her as much as it did, maybe because she knew the other woman was doing it just to bother her. She narrowed her eyes at Latira, and Garen chuckled.

"Why do I sense there's some bad blood between you two?"

"Oh it's not about that, I'm just a very competitive person."

Meleana was sure she could put Latira in her place, she just needed the right tools. She walked to the cooling unit and opened the freezer. She found a frozen fruit bar and smiled. She opened it and sat down on Garen's other side, across from Obi-Wan.

"So Garen," Meleana said licking the end of the ice pop, "Been on any interesting missions lately?"

"Something tells me they wouldn't fit your definition of interesting. What about you?"

"I've just spent a lot of time training and meditating lately," Meleana kept the frozen treat next to her mouth as she spoke so her breath would warm it. "If we can find a big enough room maybe you can show off your skills with a lightsaber. I never did get to see your lightsaber on our last mission."

Garen blushed and suppressed a grin. "Promise you won't be comparing my saber skills to Obi-Wan's?"

Meleana glanced over at Obi-Wan. "Come to think of it, I think I'd like to see the two of you go at each other. The winner can take me."

"Don't you mean you'll see if the winner can take you?"

"No," Meleana said devilishly. She licked the dripping liquid on her ice pop, starting at the bottom and slid the top into her mouth.

Garen turned to Obi-Wan, he could hear the conversation he was having with Latira. Some how it had been steered towards agriculture, though Latira was still leaning towards him, she apparently was trying to find some way to move the conversation back to where it had started.

He looked back at Meleana, who was licking her ice pop innocently enough. Not that she needed to deep throat the thing to make it distracting. A pretty girl with a phallic object in her mouth was stimulating enough.

"Now I'm uncomfortable."

"Sorry," Meleana said smiling. She licked a drop of liquid off her finger. "Want to talk about starships?"

Garen started thinking of ways starships could be dirty, he drew a blank. "Sure."

"What drew you to flying?" Meleana asked sucking the side of her ice pop. She saw Obi-Wan watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"It's a useful skill, and I excel at it."

"That sounds very practical. It didn't have anything to do with the rush?" Meleana was having an increasingly hard time with her frozen fruit now that it had warmed up. Unable to keep it from dripping by normal means she slid the entire thing into her mouth and pulled it out slowly, sucking off the melted portion. Obi-Wan and Garen both stopped mid sentence and gawked at her.

"I just remembered…. I left my lightsaber on in the other room," Garen said and hurried out before Meleana could argue.

Meleana turned to look at Obi-Wan and smiled. "You were saying something."

"I was," Obi-Wan said unable to remember what it was he'd been saying.

Meleana bit the top off her ice pop. "Was this a private conversation? Or will you welcome a third party?"

Obi-Wan couldn't think of anything other than Meleana's mouth.

"I like keeping my conversations to two," Latira snapped.

Meleana pouted. "Fair enough, I'm not much for talking about crops growing anyway. I like things that spring up a little faster. Like volcanoes…. Can't volcanic ash be used as fertilizer? Something's got to come out of that huge eruption right?"

Latira rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't know, I'm not sure that really has anything to do with what we were talking about."

"Obi-Wan, what was it you were talking about?"

"I should go find my Padawan," Obi-Wan said clearing his throat. He wasn't sure how much longer he could watch Meleana eat without pinning her to the table.

Meleana shot Latira a look when he walked out. "You want to keep playing?"

"What's next? Are you going to parade around naked?"

"I was thinking half naked first."

"You're disgusting."

"Obi-Wan and Garen don't seem to think so."

Obi-Wan hurried back into his room. Thankfully Anakin was still off exploring the ship. Garen was sitting on one of the lower bunks reading.

"I know why I didn't bring Meleana back to the room," Garen said setting his reading aside. "Why didn't you?"

Obi-Wan made an unhappy sound and crawled into the top bunk across from Garen. He'd been wound up before Meleana had started performing fellatio on an ice pop, now he felt like he was about to explode.

"Honestly Obi-Wan, go get her, Anakin and I can go sit on the bridge. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Right now all I can recall is having had a good reason. I'm going to stick with my clear headed decision."

"I wouldn't," Garen picked his reading back up. "So does that mean its alright if I show her my lightsaber?" He asked before going back to it.

"Absolutely not," Obi-Wan shut his eyes and tried to clear his head.

Obi-Wan sat up in bed, he must have fallen asleep. The room was dark and Garen and Anakin were both sleeping in the bunk across from him. He hopped out of the bed and walked into the hall. The lights on the ship had been dimmed. Something seemed a little off about it. He walked into the ships washroom, intent on taking a shower. He locked the door before stripping off his clothes and stepping into the shower. He turned away from the spray of water and jumped, startled to see someone else in the shower.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked Meleana.

"I was waiting for you."

That should have made less sense to Obi-Wan than it did. He made no attempt to push her away when she stepped forward to kiss him. Even with water pouring over both of them Obi-Wan could still taste and smell berries on her, the same ones that had been in that damned ice pop. He coiled an arm around her hips and pulled her slick body against his. His hands moved easily down her back to stroke the curve of her ass. Meleana's hips pressed up against his as their kiss deepened. He tightened his hold on her, reveling in the feel of her drenched skin against his. A moan passed through his lips as her mouth moved down his chin to his neck while her hands caressed him.

"I need you,"She said on a breath.

He moaned affirmatively as her hips ground against his.

"Please, make love to me. I've never wanted anyone the way I want you. I need you Obi-Wan."

He slid his arms down her body and lifted her to press her against the wall. Her gasp was cut short by his lips devouring hers.

Obi-Wan looked around the dark room, hopping he hadn't been moaning in his sleep. He found wet spot on his stomach and sighed in frustration. Thankfully both Garen and Anakin were sleeping.

Meleana was on the long table in the ship. Why she was sitting on it sucking on an ice pop wasn't terribly clear to her, she was sure she'd been doing something else a minute ago. The door opened before she could further question her surroundings.

Obi-Wan walked in, saw her sitting in the center of the table and smiled. He beckoned her towards him with a finger, and without question, she slid over to him.

He gently plucked the ice pop from between her fingers. "Take off your clothes," he said smoothly.

Meleana's clothing was off before her brain started working; by then wondering why he was being so forward would have been pointless. He pressed the ice pop to her lips and she opened her mouth. He slid it in and out in short strokes before sliding it back. Her lips closed tightly around it before he slowly slid it out again. His tongue caressed her cold lips, removing what was left of the ice pops blue trail.

He undressed in front of her, retaining one of the sashes from his tunic. He wrapped it around her wrists then brought her arms up above her head, using them to guide her body onto the table.

"Can I trust you to keep your eyes closed?" He asked moving the ice in teasing little circles on her neck.

"Yes," Meleana said with a shiver as she shut her eyes.

He lowered his head to kiss away the trail on her neck and glided the ice pop down her chest. He twirled it over her nipple until it was hard and blue liquid was dripping down her breast. He licked the stray drops on her breast. His hand moved to give her other nipple the same cold treatment while his mouth closed around the other.

He raked her nipple with his teeth, then gently stroked it with his tongue. Each time he did this Meleana let out a soft moan of pleasure. He moved to heat her other breast and slid the ice pop to cool the other. He repeated this process until Meleana was coated in sweat and writhing on the long table.

He looked up at her from between her breasts, checking to see that her eyes were still closed before moving his trail downwards. He kissed the sweet liquid down her stomach pausing briefly to dip the ice pop into her bellybutton, then licking it out slowly.

His body hovered over hers when he moved back to be eye to eye with her. He pressed the ice pop back to her lips.

"Open your eyes," he said. He kissed her jaw softly. "I want to watch you suck on this while I'm taking you. That should teach you not to tease me."

Meleana wasn't sure how this was supposed to be a punishment, but she did as he asked. To her surprise the ice pop had hardly melted at all. He untied her hands, allowing her to hold the end of the pop. A devious smile spread across his face as she slowly slid the ice pop into her mouth.

Meleana blinked, trying to remember where she was. Oh, that's right, she was sleeping. She lay in bed and sighed. With the way her heart was racing she'd never get back to sleep. She rolled out of bed and stumbled into the dimly lit hall, intent on taking a shower.

She froze when she saw Obi-Wan coming towards her in the narrow corridor. It was the middle of the night, what was he doing there?

"What are you doing up so late?" She asked noting his wet hair.

"Couldn't sleep," he hoped his nervousness didn't show. "I was just heading to the kitchen."

Meleana's heart skipped a beat.

"What about you?"

"I was just going to take a shower." A very cold shower, she thought to herself.

"A shower?" Obi-Wan wasn't sure why he'd stuttered the words aloud. If he'd kept quiet she wouldn't have known anything was wrong.

Meleana wanted to ask him to join her. Why had he questioned her anyway? What if he wanted to do naughty things to her in the kitchen instead? No, she thought, dreams had nothing to do with reality. He had, after all, broken up with her. She wanted him though, wanted to pin him to the wall in the hallway. She wondered how he'd react when he found out she'd let him beat her the last few times.

"Obi-Wan," Meleana stopped having lost her nerve.

"What?"

"Think you could cook something for me?" It was the only excuse she could think of that didn't involve him taking his pants off.

"Sure."


	15. Chapter 15

Though she'd tried to take her time in the shower, wanting Obi-Wan to think she was in no hurry to get back to him, she couldn't help but rush herself. What if he finished cooking and ran off? She was fairly sure she'd broken up with him first, and he'd ignored that. So why should she listen to him now?

She cursed herself for being so hung up on him. This wasn't like her at all. She couldn't remember ever acting so caught up in something, much less a boy. Despite her negative thinking her feet continued to carry her towards the kitchen. She opened the door, Obi-Wan hadn't run off after all. Of course not, why would she assume the worst of him? Was she trying to villainies him? She was so wrapped up with her thoughts that she forgot to move. Obi-Wan was sitting at the table, a plate in front of him, staring at her, while she stood in the door way.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, glad to see he wasn't the only one having trouble keeping a level head.

Meleana shook her head and hurried to take the seat across from him. Nothing like sitting down to a private diner with someone to get them out of your head, she thought to herself.

They ate in silence for a while. Obi-Wan wanted to compliment her for standing up to a Jedi Master, but wasn't sure how to word it, or if Meleana should really be encouraged. They both glanced up at each other occasionally, only to quickly avert their eyes when the other looked away from their plate.

"How's Anakin?" Meleana finally asked.

"Fine, his training is progressing nicely."

"Good."

Another long awkward silence fell over the table. Meleana wanted to blurt something out, anything that would change their current situation. Whatever his reasons for not wanting to see her anymore, he clearly still had some feelings for her. Ignoring them had made things far worse than they were before. She couldn't recall any of their prior actions causing a distraction to either one of them. After all they were both responsible adults who knew their duties to the Jedi came before any other romantic involvements. As long as they continued to be professional they weren't hurting anything.

So how to broach the subject with Obi-Wan? 'Hey I had a dream you were fucking me on this table,' seemed a little too direct. Dancing around the issue would be too subtle, and whatever it was they were doing now was just embarrassing. The other Jedi were more likely to notice their avoidance of each other than anything else. Force, they couldn't even look one another in the eye.

Meleana dropped her fork. She had no experience with this sort of thing. The only way she understood romantic interactions with the opposite sex was to be completely up front with her intentions. She stared at Obi-Wan, who carefully avoided her gaze.

She got up with a huff and pushed Obi-Wan's plate aside before sitting on his lap facing him. "Look at me," she said in a commanding tone.

His blue-gray eyes looked into hers. She could tell he was feeling, and thinking, exactly the same things she was. She felt her heart start to pound in her chest and shook her head at him.

"Stop being such a wimp," she said.

He stroked a piece of her feather-soft hair between two fingers. "I can't."

Meleana had a devilish twinkle in her eyes, "Oh that's right, you don't want to see me anymore. How's that working out for you?" She sighed, seeing the resolve in his eyes, and got back to her feet, "At least try to act natural around me," she said shaking her head.

Obi-Wan watched her walk out. As much as his mind told him he was doing the right thing, the only logical thing, the rest of him told him he was making a terrible mistake. He got to his feet and rushed out of the room before he changed his mind.

Meleana was leaning against the wall outside. "I thought I'd give you a minute to find your balls."

Obi-Wan blushed and bit his lip, "I just thought we should practice acting natural."

Meleana arched her brow. "In the animalistic sense, or the Jedi sense?"

"Jedi."

"Alright."

Early the next morning Garen walked into the dining hall of the ship.

"What were you doing last night?" Garen asked seeing the dreamy look on Obi-Wan's face.

"Talking about politics."

Garen arched his brow, staying up all night talking politics wasn't his idea of a good time. "With Meleana?"

Obi-Wan nodded and turned around in his chair to look at Garen while he riffled through the cooling unit.

"She went to bed about an hour ago. She was too tired to keep arguing with me."

"You sure do know how to satisfy a woman," Garen said sarcastically while pouring him self a drink.

"The point was to prove we can interact without feeling the need to tear each others clothes off."

"And how did that work out for you?" Garen took the seat across from Obi-Wan.

"Terribly, if anything her jaded views of politicians only served to heightened my desire to see her naked."

"That's weird. Why again didn't you take her clothing off?"

"Let's talk about something else."

"Alright, as long as it's not politics, I don't want you giving me the bedroom eye."

"Bedroom eye?"

The door swished open and Meleana walked in. She slumped down at the head of the table between Obi-Wan and Garen and sighed.

"That woman is making me insane," she said resting her head on her palm. "The second I fell asleep she started to play music loudly. I asked if she could please keep things down, she told me I was being rude for expecting her to conform to my abnormal sleep schedule. She wants me to go mad, I'm sure of it."

"You can always sleep with us," Garen said trying to be helpful. The looks he caught from the other Jedi caused him to rethink his statement. "There's an extra bed in our room."

"Is that alright with you?" Meleana asked looking at Obi-Wan.

"Sure," he wasn't sure he could say no even if he'd wanted to.

"Why don't you show her where it is?" Garen said. "Anakin's already up. He went to look around in the bridge, so you don't have to worry about waking him."

"Do you want the bottom or the top?" He asked once he'd led her into the cramped quarters.

Meleana gave him a wily smile. "Why Obi-Wan, I believe that's the first time you've asked."

Her smile widened at the redness in his cheeks. "I like the bottom."

The way Meleana's eyes were trailing over him made Obi-Wan more than a little nervous. He didn't think he'd have the will to push her away if she tried to kiss him.

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" She asked sitting back on her bed.

"No," he answered relieved she'd relaxed.

"Stop by my old room and get my clothes? They're hanging on the side of my bed drying. It's the second room on your left from the ships entrance."

Obi-Wan nodded and walked out.

Meleana was already sleeping when he returned. Latira had detained him for longer than he'd have liked, though he was relieved he wouldn't have to deflect anymore of Meleana's advances for the time being. He climbed into the top bunk, assuming he'd be safe from any unwanted conversation if everyone thought he was sleeping. Anakin would hardly complain he wasn't being followed closely enough.

The rest of the journey to Glycirie was relatively uneventful, despite tensions being high. It was clear to Meleana from the very beginning that this wouldn't be any easy mission, the addition of a childhood rival, and a former lover, hadn't helped much. She was somewhat relieved to hear she and Obi-Wan had been paired up for the duration of the mission, mostly because it meant she wouldn't have to see Latira. Each of the Jedi teams would be sent to negotiate with one of the four foreign powers on the world.

Meleana and Obi-Wan had been assigned Chahirra, they were occupying the second largest sector of Glycirie, and one of the two worlds at odds with one another. The second, Valirim, maintained order in the largest portion of the planet. The Valirim were arguable the most aggressive, and most powerful of the four worlds, which is why Master Marion had chosen to deal with them himself along with Latira.

The severe weather of the planet was evident from orbit, huge portions of the planet were covered in desert, others were so densely packed with storm clouds no land mass was visible beneath them.

Meleana and Obi-Wan had been sent to one of these cloud covered sectors. Anakin looked out at the buckets of rain falling from the sky when the ships ramp lowered to let them off. He glanced up at Obi-Wan skeptically.

"It's just rain," Obi-Wan said reassuringly.

"I know that," Anakin rolled his eyes, "Everything's going to get soaked."

Meleana stepped onto the grated catwalk first. The city was elevated, though the muddy flood waters were only a few meters from the catwalk. It was clear they were in the middle of a particularly bad storm. Meleana nearly lost her footing on the metal surface when a particularly strong gust of wind hit her.

"We might want to weigh Anakin down," she yelled over the elements.

Anakin walked out of the ship, followed closely by Obi-Wan. He didn't like the idea of being weighed down by anything other than the bag he was carrying. They had wondered why they'd been instructed to meet the Chahirran ambassadors at their offices rather than meeting them at the ships docking area. After the first few steps through the hurricane they had their answer.

They were greeted at the Chahirran office by a young human female, who gave them a brief tour of the building before showing them to their quarters. She offered to retrieve a change of clothes for the sopping wet Jedi, which all of them gladly accepted.

"That was fun," Meleana said when they were left alone to wait for something dry to wear.

Obi-Wan and Anakin began unloading their soaking bags and laying things out to dry. The room they were in looked as though it were at one time an office. Three cots had been haphazardly placed inside. A desk and chair still remained shoved into the far corner of the room.

"I don't see how anyone could do any fighting in weather like this. Droids included," Obi-Wan said.

"The weather here's not always like this. Twenty years ago this was a desert. The weather shifts pretty drastically, tomorrow could be warm and sunny," Meleana said sitting down on what she'd designated her cot.

Obi-Wan tossed Meleana her spare clothes, which he'd had in the bottom of his bag and sat down on the cot across from her. He looked over at his Padawan, who was being unusually quiet. He noted the boys eyes were fixed on Meleana's chest. Her clothing had been thoroughly soaked through, making her hard nipples easily visible through the cream colored fabric.

"Meleana," Obi-Wan said motioning towards her chest, not sure pointing out her exposure verbally would help.

Meleana looked down and her face flushed red. She quickly moved an arm to cover her chest and looked for something to cover herself with. She grabbed the pillow at the head of the bed and held it to her chest. She looked at Anakin, praying he hadn't noticed. The smile on his face told her he had. She buried her face into the pillow.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat and tried to hide his amusement. "Anakin, it's not polite to stare."

"I…" Anakin couldn't think of any way to defend him self, "wasn't."

"Apologize to Jedi Ariadne."

Anakin didn't see why he had to apologize when she was the one exposing herself. "Sorry."

The awkward moment was diffused when the woman who'd showed them to their rooms returned with their clothing.


	16. Chapter 16

Meleana's dream's brought her to what had become a familiar setting. It wasn't that she recognized anything around her, more the feelings, the dread, the sorrow, the darkness overwhelming her, all had become common place in the visions and dreams she'd been having lately. Tonight was no different. She was in the dark, climbing an endless set of stairs, moving towards the sound of a female voice calling her name. The voice started to change, become more familiar.

Meleana woke from her dream, hearing her name being called somewhere in the real world. She looked around the dark room. The voice calling her name was Obi-Wan's. She slid out of bed and crouched down in front of him. He let out a low sensual moan.

"Obi-Wan," she whispered shaking him lightly. If he woke up Anakin he'd have a lot of explaining to do.

"No," he moaned out hitting the hand she had on him.

"Obi," Meleana shook him a little harder and he opened his eyes. He had a look of confusion on his face when he turned to her.

"You were moaning my name," Meleana said unable to resist smiling at him.

"I was?"

Meleana nodded and looked down. Even under the blanket his erection was visible. "Not something you want Anakin to hear." Meleana stared at him a moment, her mind playing through all the things he might have been dreaming about doing to her. "I think you need a little release, to prevent this from happening in the future." She stroked her hand across his stubble covered cheek. "I'll be in the bathroom if you need me."

Obi-Wan watched her walk out. She had a point, it would be better for him to act on his impulses now than wake his Padawan by screaming her name in the middle of the night. The thought of her waiting for him to make love to her in the bathroom didn't help to alleviate his sexual tension.

The whole reason he'd broken things off with her to begin with was he'd worried his feelings for her would interfere with his duty to the Jedi, and they were, despite his choice not to be with her. If anything knowing she'd be waiting for him whenever he came back from a mission would make things easier, not harder. And it had definitely made a number of things harder.

He looked back at Anakin to check that he was sleeping before getting out of bed. He couldn't possibly regret sleeping with her again more than he regretted not sleeping with her.

He knocked on the bathroom door after finding it locked. He heard a click as the lock was undone and opened it. Meleana was on the other side of the door completely naked. She smiled at him and walked into his arms when he'd closed the door.

"I was beginning to worry you wouldn't come," Meleana's lips brushed his cheek,"And I do want you to come." She pulled away and winked, "Get naked," she said in a low voice. She turned the shower on in the bathroom to help conceal any noise they would make.

He pulled her back across the small room and kissed her deeply.

Meleana's body relaxed into his touch. Her hips pushed towards his. Having him pin her to a cooler then leave her high and dry had had more of an effect on her than she'd like to admit.

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said breaking away from her.

"Talk later," Meleana said sensing he was about to get them into a long drawn out conversation, "sex now."

Obi-Wan smiled at her, she clearly had been suffering just as much as he had. He looked around the small bathroom. Putting her on the counter in front of the mirror seemed to be the best spot.

"Bend over the counter love," he said smoothly.

Meleana looked at the mirror, then back at him with a sly smile.

He kissed her neck when his head began to clear, glad he'd chosen to follow her over going back to sleep.

"Can we talk now?" he asked planting languid kisses down her neck.

"Sure," she was still catching her breath, "let's move into the shower."

They both stepped under the warm spray of water. The shower was so small they were still almost touching.

"I made a mistake," Obi-Wan said, not wanting to lose his resolve. "I'd like to…" He still wasn't sure how to say it. His other relationships didn't need to be requested, but some how he knew if he wanted to be exclusive with Meleana he'd need to at least make a verbal agreement.

"What?" Meleana asked flicking water at him.

The question was how to phrase it without scaring the anti-social bombshell before him off. "So you've never been in a relationship before?"

Meleana shook her head and gave him a half smile.

"You like to try new things right?"

She looked down at her feet, then back up at him. She had to admit, he had caught her attention, and while she'd had plenty of sexual partners, she'd never had a regular before. Obi-Wan had also never failed to perform, and she did like him…usually. Sure on the surface he was a little dull, but it seemed the more she got to know him, the more he let her see his repressed rebellious streak. She continued to stare at him, she'd been attracted to him when they first me, who wouldn't be. Was being committed to a gorgeous man who made sure she always came first really that bad?

"So you want me to be your lady?" She asked with a sweet smile.

His tongue grazed over his lip, "I do."

Meleana looked up shyly, not sure why, given he'd seen her in more compromising positions than she could count. She opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Yes or no will do."

"So I can only sleep with you?"

"Yes, but you can terminate this agreement at any time."

Meleana looked up into his eyes and found herself instantly engrossed in them, "Yes," she said without another thought.

He smiled and kissed her. When he thought about it, Qui-Gon had always brought about the end of his relationships, claiming he wasn't ready for them, that they would distract him from his training. His Master hadn't felt his feelings for Tahl were a detriment to his work as a Jedi. So why should Obi-Wan, now older and wiser, feel his emotional connection to Meleana conflict with his Jedi duties? The only way he'd ever know if he was ready to handle both was to try. He was sure Meleana could handle it, emotional attachment seemed the least of her worries. She was more open about the way the loss of her Master had affected her, but clearly she had not had the same attachment issues with lovers he'd had in the past.

"This is a big deal to you huh?" Meleana asked looking up at him.

"Are you kidding? What man wouldn't want to have you all to himself?"

"Well there were a few…"

"I don't want to hear about that."

Meleana smirked. "Oh I see, you want to pretend you're the only man I've ever slept with? That I'm some sweet delicate little creature?"

"Not at all," His hands slid down her wet body to rest on her hips. "I'd just rather not hear about you sleeping with two other men at the same time or more…" He looked into her eyes, they told him he really didn't want to know. "Two other women on the other hand,"

Meleana shrugged, "You really want to hear about that?"

Obi-Wan blinked at her.

"I don't discriminate," she said with a shrug.

He smiled and shook his head. "I've told you so little about myself, why don't you interrogate me?"

"Because what you've done doesn't matter as much as who you are."

"Exactly."

Meleana wrapped her arms around his neck, and looked at him, without worrying he'd notice her roaming eyes.

"You know," she said moving her body up against his. "I think there is quiet a bit beneath that perfect Jedi exterior of yours, and if I'm going to be with you, I think I'd like to know a little more about it."

He smiled down at her. "Perfect?"

"Don't dodge my questions. I'll terminate the agreement."

"Shall I start with my childhood or do you want a short story?"

"I want everything."

"We're going to run out of hot water."

As he began telling Meleana the events of his life, starting with his earliest memories Meleana was struck with how good being held by him felt. She wouldn't say it, but his arms around her, the trusting look in his eyes, everything felt perfect. They were on a mission, they shouldn't have been fornicating in a bathroom to begin with, much less holding each other in the shower. But she didn't feel like a Jedi in his arms. She felt like a girl, a normal twenty-one year old. She felt like it was alright to have feelings, to be worried she wouldn't measure up. She didn't have to be strong or fix any global or galactic problems. Being the girl in his arms was all he expected from her, and the more she listened to the stories of his past the more she got the impression that he felt the same way.

The next day did not begin as well as the previous day had ended. The light tone that had been prevalent during the previous evenings meeting had completely disappeared. In its place was tension and anxiety, the Chahirran were clearly not happy.

"Did you know about this?" Riak Hossent, the leader of the Chahirran team, slid a data pad across the table towards the Jedi.

Obi-wan stopped it from flying off and picked it up. Meleana read over his shoulder trying to get some idea what the very wordy document was about.

"Jedi Kenobi will read this in detail before we come to any conclusions, but I can assure you we had no prior knowledge of any of this," Meleana said trying to lessen the tension in the room.

The document was far too long for either of the Jedi to grasp the issues without time to read it over. Judging by the looks on the Chahirran's faces that was time they weren't willing to give them. Whatever was in the document, it hadn't helped the situation.

"I know you all have other matters to attend to. Would you be willing to go over the qualms you have with me while Jedi Kenobi goes through the document?"

Riak and the other Chahirran's eyed each other warily.

"You have my word that nothing will be done with out your expressed consent," he looked like he was warming up to the idea so Meleana smiled. "We're here to make things easier on you. If you go over your concerns with me, Jedi Kenobi and I can debate the issue and come up with some viable solutions to present to you this afternoon. Rash decisions will only make things worse."

Riak let out a deep breath and nodded.

"So what, in your opinion, is wrong with this…" before Meleana could question what exactly the document was three of the Chahirran's chimed in at once.

"The Valirim have stated that our occupancy of Glycirie is in violation of a treaty signed nearly two hundred years ago," Riak's voice cut off the others. "They're acting as though this is a military occupation. We've supplied nearly double the medical aid of any other world. The Valirim arrived here first when the acting government requested aid. They chose the most temperate sector to occupy. They knew full well the position that would put us in. The people in this sector are starving, hurricanes and earthquakes have decimated their economy. Rebuilding here would cost us trillions, money we would be unable to spend on defense. We'd suspected the Valirim would try to take advantage of this, we just didn't know how soon."

"They are demanding we immediately turn over all of our aid efforts to their authority, including unrestricted access to the budget we'd set aside for Glycirie," Amel, the second in command added. "They say failure to do so will result in immediate action. The treaty was signed by many worlds in neighboring systems, to go to war with one would mean going to war with all of them."

"How long ago did this come in?" Meleana asked. She glanced back at Obi-Wan, he didn't seem to have any objections to the Chahirran's interpretation of the document.

"We'd just finished reviewing it when you came in," Riak said harshly, "We thought the Jedi were here to prevent this sort of thing."

"No we're just the eye candy," Meleana said in a serious tone. Riak didn't smile, but there was a flicker of humor in his eyes. "Is there anything that could have prompted this?"

They all glanced hesitantly at one another.

"If you don't tell me they will, and I'd rather hear the truth from you now," Meleana tried to appear relaxed despite her insecurities. This seemed way out of her league.

"We've been developing a new weapon. Valirim spies must have found out about the project," Amel said tensely.

"They must assume gaining control of such a large chunk of our financial resources will delay this," Riak paused as if weighing how much he should reveal. "We also suspect there may be natural resources within the oceans of Glycirie that interest the Valirim."

Meleana could tell there was something they were leaving out. She'd pressure them for the information if it came down to it, but for now she felt forcing secrets out of them would only hurt their relations.

"Under no circumstances will we agree to these terms. The Valirim won't go to war with us over Glycirie." Amel added firmly.

"Is there anything else I should know before I contact the Jedi working directly with the Valirim?"

The diplomats all shook their heads and Meleana excused herself. She walked into one of the adjoining offices and contacted Master Marion.

"Jedi Ariadne, I take it you've received our proposal?"

The tightening of Meleana's jaw gave her emotions away. "With all due respect Master, what possible reason could you have for pushing these planets even closer to the brink or war?"

For a split second a look of distaste appeared on his face, as though justifying himself to a Knight was beneath him. "I've reviewed the situation, the Valirim are in the best position to maintain peace while rebuilding this world. The other worlds have all agreed to work under Valirim control. Forcing the Chahirran's hand will expedite the process. Without their cooperation thousands, if not millions of people may die. All of the parties involved have agreed the current arrangement is not working. They'd be fools to choose to go to war over this."

Meleana wanted to pull her hair out. How many wars had been started over something foolish? Granted, it did seem the Chahirran's would lose if pitted against so many opposing worlds, but that didn't mean they wouldn't die for their pride.

"Master, I do not believe they will accept this agreement."

"Meleana, this is not my first negotiation. If you want to prevent a war you and Jedi Kenobi will convince the Chahirran's that handing over control is their only option. We are only asking for what they were already willing to give."

"Willing to give to the Glycirie, not the Valirim," Meleana snapped back, with more passion in her voice than she'd intended.

The Jedi Master let out an impatient sigh and shook his head. "I'd thought you'd be more open to cooperation, given your recent failures."

Meleana's eyes widened in disbelief. He'd selected her for the mission because he thought she'd be easily manipulated? "The history between these two planets is long and complicated. Far too complex for outsiders, even Jedi, to come in and think they will be able to predict the reactions of either side within a day. For all we know this is exactly the excuse they've been looking for to escalate tense relations into a full blown war. This tactic may have worked out on other worlds, but that does not mean it will work everywhere. This is reckless, and I will not bully the Chahirran's into accepting this bargain. Doing so would only alienate them further, perhaps to the point where they refuse to work with anyone, including the Jedi."

"If you want to avoid a war you and Jedi Kenobi will convince them to sign the documents. You will report back to me tomorrow morning with progress or you and Kenobi will face consequences."

Thankfully Meleana's hand moved faster than her mouth. She'd disconnected the holo-transmission before she could fire off any of the insults she wanted to hurl Marion's way.

She regained her composure before walking into the conference room, not wanting to alarm the Chahirran's any further. Obi-Wan had clearly sensed her emotional state from the other room. He was looking up at her expectantly.

"Is everything alright?" Riak asked when Meleana didn't say anything.

She turned to them and nodded curtly. "Assuming there are no other concerns you would like to address Jedi Kenobi and I will meet with you this afternoon to discuss possible strategies for dealing with this."

Riak didn't seem entirely satisfied with Meleana's response, but he motioned for the others to clear the room.

"What a domineering, arrogant, thoughtless asshole!" It seemed the insults Meleana wanted to shout at Marion had come out after all.

Obi-Wan looked at Meleana then back at Anakin, who looked a little shocked by Meleana's outburst.

"Who?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Marion, he organized this, to force the Chahirran's hand. We have until tomorrow morning to agree with him and get the Chahirran's to see things his way, or we'll face consequences." Meleana played nervously with her hands.

"They gave us no indication that they were even remotely considering the possibility of agreeing to this. If they knew the Jedi had anything to do with this it could completely derail our negotiations."

"So say the rational people," Meleana tossed her hands out.

"We need to know more about this weapon they've been developing. If they believe it could give them an upper hand in this war I doubt we'll be able to talk them out of it."

"Right, so we should say what, 'we know you don't trust outsiders much, and it turns out this whole thing was the Jedi's idea, but would you mind telling us about your top secret weapons project?'"

"Calm down. We can handle this. Master Marion's plan isn't entirely unfounded. I can only assume he is doing what he believes is best for the people here. Choosing what is widely thought of as the most powerful world, to head up peace keeping and rebuilding makes sense; as does forcing the hand of the most likely planet to oppose," Obi-Wan looked back at Anakin, "What do you think we should do?"

Anakin shrugged, "Tell the truth I guess. We want them to trust us right?"

Obi-Wan looked back at Meleana, "He has a point," he said, a slight twinkle in his eyes. He knew she was fuming.

Meleana bit her tongue to keep from commenting on Anakin's age. She wasn't about to base her entire strategy off a nine year old, chosen one or not.

"So we tell them the truth? They kick us out and go to war, or let us stay, and maybe, we can talk Marion out of this plan of his. Who knows if any of this can even be undone at this point, the other worlds have already agreed," Meleana ran her hands through her hair and sat down next to Obi-Wan.

"We could convince them to leave, abandon their relief efforts here, though the Glycirie would suffer for it. At this point it is doubtful leaving the two worlds to work together is a viable option," Obi-Wan looked down at the floor and tried to play through any other scenarios.

"We can sink to their level, if this weapon is powerful enough. Convince Marion to switch his plan around."

"Or we can try to go along with his plan."

"What makes you think the Chahirran's will even consider it?"

Obi-Wan paused, "Nothing really, they seemed very firm in their resolve. They've been burned by the Valirim many times in the past."

Meleana buried her face in her hands. Was this her fault? Had she set the Chahirran's expectations too high by making them think they'd have any say in what would and wouldn't take place on Glycirie. Worse, had she ruined any chance of swaying Master Marion's current course by openly disagreeing with him from the start?

"This planet needs help, the climate needs stabilizing, they need food, power," Meleana started thinking out loud. Normally she'd write lists endlessly until she'd come up with a solution, but she didn't feel like searching for a durasheet.

"They need lots of money, talented people, and resources," she continued, not caring if Obi-Wan was listening to her ramble. "It's likely three of the four worlds could provide this, which leaves us with the problem of the Chahirran not trusting the Valirim's purely humanitarian interest in this planet."

"Whatever course we decide to take the relationship between the Chahirran and Valirim needs to be repaired."

"Got any glue?" Meleana snapped.

Obi-Wan gave her a patient smile, "Currently we need to work out what to do about this treaty. I'd guess if we make any attempt to go over Master Marion's head to speak with the Valirim directly we'll find ourselves on an early flight back to Coruscant."

"We need to find out exactly how close these two planets are to going to war. If they were already on the brink before all of this things could heat up very quickly."

Anakin looked back and forth between Meleana and Obi-Wan as they continued… he wasn't really sure what they were doing. Neither of them seemed to be making any progress and Anakin was getting bored. Wasn't being a Jedi supposed to be exciting? Maybe if he could actually talk during any of this he'd feel better. Under the circumstances he wasn't sure why they'd bothered to bring him at all.

So far the only interesting thing to happen since they'd arrived on the planet was Meleana's wardrobe malfunction. Anakin looked down at the floor, wondering if all girls looked the same, what breasts felt like. Jedi Ariadne was pretty, not as pretty as Padme… Anakin wished it had rained more on Tattoine. He looked back up just in time to see Meleana leaving, apparently the two Jedi had reached some sort of agreement.

The meeting with the Chahirran that evening went better than Meleana had expected. She and Obi-Wan had decided to give them two options, the first being to gracefully bow out of the conflict and leave Glycirie. They chose the second, which involved presenting an amended plan to the Valirim. Meleana had worked all afternoon on the document, but just as she'd suspected, they were up until the wee hours of the morning making changes to it.

She'd decided against sleeping, and was sitting in the common room of the facility nursing her third drink. She was trying to decide exactly how drunk she could allow herself to get to sober up by the morning meeting with Marion when the door swished open.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked looking up at Obi-Wan.

"I was worried about you," he answered taking the seat next to her.

Meleana wasn't sure if that was sweet, or annoying. She didn't look up from her drink, though she was acutely aware of his eyes on her. She wished she hadn't agreed to being in a relationship with him. It seemed like a bad idea for so many reasons, but reneging on the past nights agreement was equally embarrassing. She didn't want to admit she lost the ability to form a logical thought the second his pants hit the floor.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"What's not?" She decided she could get a little drunker and tossed the rest of her drink back before standing to pour another.

"That's constructive."

"Yeah well, in theory I've been constructive all day. I deserve a break."

Before she could get back to her chair strong arms gripped her and pulled her down. She stiffened when she landed on Obi-Wan's lap. He'd acted so cool and professional all day she'd hoped they'd at least finish the mission before she had to deal with the consequences of the previous night. Despite the reluctance of her mind her body responded instantly to him. She wasn't sure what was more annoying, her heart racing, or the pulsing between her thighs. Force she hoped he couldn't feel both.

"You do deserve a break," his voice had changed from the level tone he'd used throughout the day, to a throaty lust filled growl.

She flinched when his hand brushed past her neck moving her hair to expose her skin. He pulled her closely to him with one hand while the other deftly removed her drink from her hand and set it on the table. His lips closed around her neck and she let out a soft moan.

She looked over at the door. Obviously she did more damage to Obi-Wan's brain than he did to hers.

"Someone could walk in," she said as his hands began to stoke her body.

"Everyone is sleeping. They went to bed very late. They didn't tell us to handle the negotiations with Valirim so they could get an early start on the day. I'd say we have at least five hours before anyone wakes up."

Meleana started to look at him then quickly moved her eyes away. What was happening? Wasn't he supposed to be the good one? The rational one? The by-the-code one? But that wasn't the real problem. If Meleana could just say no there'd be nothing to worry about. She wanted him. Her bodies response to him was so strong they could have been in front of the Council and she'd still let him take her. And that's what worried her. She was used to wanting people, having them, and never seeing them again, with no ache or longing after. She wanted Obi-Wan, and continued to want him despite having him on multiple occasions.

While her mind worked over all of this her body was relaxing back into his arms, aided by his hands massaging her in all the right places. By the time she was aware of herself again she'd completely melted into him, her hips were grinding back into his. Her annoyance with herself quickly faded when she felt his erection pressing into the curve of her ass. Her shirt was on the floor before she could second guess herself. Her eyes slid closed as she submitted to him.

Obi-Wan looked up at her through hooded eyes. Her head tilted back, those sounds he loved so much pouring from her parted lips. He wanted to make love to her, to shower her body in the adoration she deserved. It had been torture watching her beat herself up all day. He'd wanted to comfort her, to hold her. Despite her casual demeanor and sarcastic humor, she was even harder on herself than Obi-Wan was. All day he'd wanted to stop, tell her how beautiful she was, how smart, how she was doing the right thing, what a great Jedi she'd become. But going into all of that in front of Anakin would have been awkward. He'd know about some of Qui-Goon's lovers, but not until he was older. He'd traded the complications of a Master for the complications of a Padawan. He wished they hadn't wasted so much time on that first mission. How many days- weeks- had they been alone together?

And through all of that they'd only really appreciated each other for two short days. He'd give anything to have just one of those days back, to spend it loving her. He could tell her attraction to him was different from his own. He was completely enamored, despite his initial opinion of her. She was beautiful, fun, smart, wild.

He wanted to show her exactly how he felt about her, and he got the idea that she'd only be receptive to that during sex. He moved his lips over hers penetrating her with his tongue tasting her sweet kiss mixed with the bitterness of liquor. She was the best cocktail he'd ever had.

Meleana was unlike any of the other women he'd fallen for, in almost every way. Siri had always been his gold standard, and aside from challenging him, they had very little in common. Meleana had a raw sexuality to her, a dark side that was anything but evil. She was light, happiness, joy. She was also sad, alone, but he could feel all of that disappear when they were together.

As much as she needed him to escape the pain life had brought her, he needed her for the same reasons. She'd been honest, talked to him about her loss, all he could do was burry it.

His need for her had gone beyond sexual. Even now, feeling her slick sex moving over his wasn't enough. He wanted her in a very primal male way, a way Jedi certainly were not supposed to want women.

"Oh Obi."

Hearing her moan his name brought him back to his current reality, and what a lovely reality it was.

He planted soft wet kisses on her jaw before moaning into her ear, "Come for me darling."

Meleana's head fell into the crook of his neck. The deep breath she drew in tickled him.

"You smell good," She said in a daze.

"Still tense?" he asked with a satisfied grin.

"No, you fixed that."

"Good," he purred, "Tired yet?"

"Yes."

Obi-Wan pulled out and pulled her pants back up. He called her shirt to his hand with the force and helped her dress before scooping her into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Meleana asked, her normal sharpness returning.

"Taking you to bed, one day I'll get to do this without any intention of sleeping."

Meleana ran a hand over his stubble covered cheek. Now she remembered exactly why she'd agreed to be exclusive with him. As long as he kept making her scream every time she had doubts, there was no reason things couldn't work out between them.


	17. Chapter 17

The meeting with Master Marion had been more of a disaster than they could have imagined. He scolded both of them for going against his orders, threatened to have them sent back to Coruscant, and left them saying they were to sell the Chahirran on the original proposal. He was convinced the only way to prevent a war was to remove the Valirim's opposition.

They'd gone back to the Chahirran with this, and just as the Jedi had expected, they'd been outraged. After a long debate amongst themselves they'd agreed to allow Meleana to accompany them to a meeting regarding their top secret weapon. Meleana had to agree not to give any details to anyone, including Obi-Wan, but all parties agreed it was better to hear the severity of the situation from a third party.

Obi-Wan watched Meleana pace nervously around the conference room they'd been in the night before. He'd already sent Anakin upstairs to study. All he and Meleana were doing was waiting. She'd tried to convince the Chahirran they'd picked the wrong Jedi, that Obi-Wan was a much better choice, but they'd disagreed.

"Calm down," he said gripping her hand as she paced past him.

"What if it's something horrible? Marion won't believe me. I could be responsible for millions of lives. He's much more likely to listen to you. It should be you."

He pulled her into her arms and looked into her worried eyes. "They trust you, they like you. You can do this. All you have to do is sit there and watch and tell the other Jedi on a scale of one to ten how bad the weapon is."

"I thought you thought I was an idiot."

He almost smiled, "Does your ego need constant attention?"

"Obviously," Meleana gave him a light kiss on the cheek before stepping away just before the doors swished open.

"The transport is ready," Riak said stepping into the room. "We may not be able to land again until tomorrow evening, the storms are getting worse."

Meleana nodded, "Will we be able to contact anyone on the planet?"

"If not in this sector than another. It's nothing to worry about, the structures are programmed to adapt to the violent weather."

Riak and Meleana continued to chat as they left. Meleana looked back at Obi-Wan with a wave as she passed through the door.

The meeting was held on Chahirra, which gave Obi-Wan several hours to wait to hear from Meleana. By the late evening he was brought to a communications room with a holotransmitter strong enough to receive a signal in the hellish storm.

Meleana's eyes followed the man who'd brought Obi-Wan in. She waited for him to leave before speaking.

"We need to get the Valirim to back down," Meleana said without greeting Obi-Wan, "If we don't there is literally nothing they can do to avoid complete destruction, and if the other worlds go along with this… Chahirra would be the only populated planet in the system."

Before Obi-Wan could reply the building shook with enough force to knock him off his feet. He heard a few garbled words from Meleana, then silence. He looked up at where her image had been as he got to his feet.

"What happened?" Meleana asked. She couldn't reestablish her connection with Glycerie.

Riak shook his head. "Communications are temporarily down. We'll be in orbit in a few hours. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

Meleana frowned, she didn't share Riak's optimism.

Meleana sensed there was a problem before anyone came to get her from the cabin she'd been napping in, she nearly bowelled over a crewman who'd been sent to find her on her way to the bridge.

"What happened?" She asked walking forward to look out the view screen.

None of the diplomats answered her. They were all frozen in place, staring blankly down at the planet.

Meleana pushed through to the controls and tried to reed the symbols on the screen. All of the reports on the planet were coded.

"What does this say?" She looked back at the catatonic Chahirran's.

"The cities gone," Riak said softly.

Meleana waited for a more detailed response. "Gone? Define gone?"

"The storm… there must have been a malfunction with the stabilizers. Everything's collapsed, there isn't anywhere to land."

"Is there a rescue fleet on its way?" she asked hurriedly. "Take me down to there," she added when Riak nodded.

"As I said, there is no where to land."

"I'll jump off, just get me down there."

Riak shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"Then leave me as close as you can."

"What good do you think you'll do if you go down there now?"

Meleana grit her teeth in frustration. He was right. She'd be useless on her own. She excused herself and went to contact Marion.

"Jedi Ariadne, I don't recall giving you permission to go off world."

"I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself before I contact the Council," she snapped.

He took a deep breath, which gave Meleana the impression he was trying to think up a lie.

"Yesterday you warned me there would be consequences," she shook her head in disgust, "Care to guess at the number of people who died today?"

Marion looked away, "I had no idea the Valirim would go so far so quickly."

"No idea? I warned you this would happen. You encouraged them. You gave them an excuse to attack. They don't care about Glycerie, they just wanted to one up their rival, and you gave them a reason. And you thought what? You'd report with great sadness that a tragic accident had killed the Jedi and the Chahirran on Glycerie? That you'd find a way to make the Valirim look like heroes?"

"If you'd done as I said this wouldn't have happened."

Meleana narrowed her eyes at him. "Your arrogance is astounding. It's a miracle this is the first time this has happened. If you don't have anything to say I think I'll be contacting the temple."

Meleana looked him in the eye, waited a few seconds, and disconnected the communication.

The city was in ruins. Buildings lay on their side. Some were more than halfway submerged in the muddy waters they had once towered above. The small walk ways were littered with bodies, mostly living. Debris floated past in the raging waters and whipped through the air on the strongest gusts of wind. Meleana let the rescue teams start working and filled in where she was needed. She knew rushing off on her own wouldn't do any good. Once she had a better idea of how they were handling things she'd be able to start searching for Obi-Wan and Anakin.

She'd tried both of them on there comlinks, of course they hadn't answered, but it had been worth a try. Somehow she was also supposed to be available to speak with the Council when they'd finished reviewing Master Marion's conduct.

Meleana spent hours treating injuries, and pulling people out of the mud before she finally got to go into the Chahirran's office. Meleana jumped in before the rest of the rescue team. The building was more than half way submerged, which meant the non-Jedi needed special equipment to properly search it. Meleana moved quickly using the force to detect any living beings within the building. She'd call to one of the rescuers behind her when she'd found someone, and wait with the injured person, calming them until the rescue team arrived.

The section of the building they'd been staying in had been relatively undamaged, very few rooms had flooded, and he way was only mildly hampered by any serious structural damage; though she was walking on the walls rather than the floor.

She looked down into the room they'd been staying in and heard Anakin's high pitched voice. She jumped into the room and found Anakin pinned to the wall by the bulk of the rooms furniture. She moved it away with the force and Anakin fell forward into his arms.

"Are you alright?" She asked looking for any large blood stains in the area around him.

"I think so," He said hesitantly.

"If something hurts tell me," Meleana knew he was hurt, he was hardly supporting any of his own weight.

Anakin paused, "If I tell you, will you still let me help you find Obi-Wan?"

Meleana gently stroked his hair while climbing out of the room. "Ani, I wasn't going to let you do that anyway."

"Well why not?"

"I'll work faster without you. There are lots of people who'll need your help on the refugee crafts. Do you know where Obi-Wan was when the building collapsed?"

"He was going to the communication room," Anakin said, disappointment evident in his voice.

Meleana lay Anakin down on a stretcher when they'd gotten back to the rescue team. She inquired about the communications room and was given a plan of the building on a data pad. The communications room was on the edge of the most deeply submerged portion of the building.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.

Meleana tried to smile. "Nothing, you're going to go with these people. Don't worry, Obi-Wan and I will be back in no time," she could tell Anakin didn't believe her.

Three days later…

Meleana pulled herself out of the mud. She hadn't slept in days. Master Yoda had decided to remove Master Marion, and much to Meleana's surprise, had left her in charge. She trusted the other Jedi on this mission to keep everyone calm. The Chahirran had agreed not to take any rash actions, and were waiting for the brunt of the rescue effort to be completed before any more negotiations. Every hour not spent talking with the other worlds, or the other Jedi, was spent looking for Obi-Wan. Mud was being pumped from the building, and it was slowly being lifted back to its original position. Every night Meleana would go as deep into the muck as she could, praying she'd find a dry pocket in the murk, and Obi-Wan inside of it.

Meleana wiped the mud from her face and sat down against the wall. She tried to think of something else she could do, somewhere else Obi-Wan would be. The more she thought the more she felt her chest tightening. She took a deep breath and blinked the tears from her eyes. She couldn't cry, if she cried it meant he was dead, and if she didn't believe he was alive she'd never find him.

Most of the building had been cleared out, and she'd been through the communications room more times than she could count. There was a lot of damage to that side of the building. He could have easily been carried off by the stormy waters.

She went back to the rescue center and pulled up a map of the area. If he had been carried off he might have made it to shore somewhere along the way. She didn't bother asking for a transport, she knew they'd argue that no one could fly in the storm, and she was in no mood to argue. She tossed a med kit into the back of a speeder, hotwired it, and flew into the heavy winds.

Obi-Wan felt the water on his upper body again. His body felt broken, everywhere, and the days spent in the elements hadn't aided his healing. Each time he had to pull himself farther from the rising waters it seemed more difficult, and after so long, he was beginning to wonder if anyone would ever find him. At least he wouldn't die of thirst, all he needed to do to drink was open his mouth.

His mind wandered back to Anakin, hoping he was alright. He told himself he was, he couldn't handle the alternative at the moment. At least he knew Meleana was alright. He closed his eyes and thought of her lying next to him. He imagined the softness of her body pressed against his, the light flowery smell of hers.

"Obi-Wan."

He must be losing it if he was hearing her voice. Force he could almost feel her hand on his cheek. Was she checking his pulse? That hardly felt like something he'd fantasize.

"Obi, open your eyes please."

He wouldn't have imagined so much worry in her voice either, would he? He'd never heard her sound so upset. He opened his eyes, praying that if it was just a fantasy, he'd continue hallucinating with them open. The look of relief on her drawn face made him start to believe she might be real. Force, she looked terrible. She had to be real, he'd never imagine her looking so haggard.

"I'm going to check you and make sure you're alright to move. Ok? Tell me if I'm hurting you."

He did his best to put up a strong front as her hands moved down his body. He was relieved to find she didn't touch his legs right away. Obviously they looked as bad as they felt.

"I'm going to splint your legs alright?"

He nodded weakly and braced himself for the pain. He let out a strained grunt when she lifted his leg. The pain that shot through him when she moved him into the speeder was almost blinding. He was sure he'd let out some pathetic sound unbecoming of a warrior, her hand stroked his cheek gently when she'd set him down, saying calming words to him in a soft voice.

Obi-Wan was getting restless lying around the temples halls of healing. Meleana had put him straight on a transport back to Coruscant, along with Anakin. He was glad to hear his comlink go off, finally he had a distraction.

"How are you feeling?" Meleana asked sweetly.

"Much better. How's the mission."

Meleana practically squealed into her comlink. "Everyone's happy. You should have seen me! I made everyone get together in one room and I laid down the law. It was pretty awesome. New treaties were signed, lives were saved."

"Well done," he said smiling at the confidence in her voice. "Does this mean you're on your way back?"

"Yep, we'll be leaving in a couple hours. Think you'll be up and about when I get back?"

"I'm sure of it."

"You should see Latira, she's been so indignant about me being in charge. Don't tell anyone, but I absolutely love it," She sounded happier than he'd ever heard her. "And no one wants to kill anyone anymore. It's just great. Great!"

"I knew you could do it. Now please tell me you have a very fast ship bringing you home."

Meleana made a thoughtful sound. "I'm not sure what's taking us home. Besides, I think you probably need a few more days to rest. You didn't see the shape you were in when I found you. It was bad, and I am going to give you quite the work out when I get back."

"You know I'm starting to feel like our relationship has become all about sex."

"Obi, it always has been."

"Then get back quickly before I lose interest," he said playfully.

"Ouch. Just for that I'm going to spank you."

"I might like that," a smile spread across his face.

"Oh are we going to have comlink sex now, because I'm not a big fan."

"You are missing out on the best comlink sex of your life," He said with a chuckle.

"Oh I'm sure I am, and I'm sure you really want a healer to walk in on you with your dick in your hands."

"You should see the healers," he said teasingly.

"Oh, now Jedi Kenobi, do I need to remind you, you were the one that wanted us to be exclusive?"

"No beautiful, you don't," he stared longingly up at the ceiling. "I can't wait to hold you."

"And I can't wait for you to do that tingly thing."

"Sure I can't talk you into comlink sex? I am very bored," he relaxed onto the bed he'd been trapped in for the past week.

"You're going to have to wait for the real thing. I don't want some under sexed healer walking in there and seeing the size of you. She'll go mad, whether you fuck her or not."

"Then you'd better make sure a very fast ship brings you home."

"Maybe you should take a few naked holos of me, give you something to remember me by when we're apart. After all this is hardly the last separation we'll suffer."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Did you really just say that?"

"I did, but if you don't want to…"

"Oh no I want to."

"Good, so when I get back have your holocamera, and your tingly sex powers ready for me. If you can really manage to fuck me crazy I'll let you record it."

"Force woman, where did you learn to talk like that?"

"Dirty novels, now darling, I've got to go. See you in a few days."

Obi-Wan dropped his comlink on the bed next to him and ran his hands through his hair. He felt more restless now than he had before her call.


	18. Chapter 18

The days it took Meleana to get back to Coruscant felt like years. She'd called Obi-Wan every day, which had at least kept him busy, but she'd had a point when she said their relationship was all about sex, and all talking to her did was make him want her more.

Thankfully he was released from the halls of healing before she got back. He wasn't looking forward to trying to making a break for it. She'd invited him for dinner as soon as she'd returned, and despite her cooking, he couldn't refuse.

When she opened the door to the Jaded Star smoke poured out. He quickly lost focus on that though, as she'd put on the slave dancer's outfit.

"You like it?" She asked moving her body so her breasts jiggled in the metal top.

"Very much," he pulled her to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I need to get back to cooking," Meleana said after giving him a long wet kiss.

Obi-Wan nodded, his attention now back on the smoke filled ship. He wasn't about to refuse the cooking of slave clad Meleana, but he was a little concerned about the air quality.

"Do you need help?" He asked before she could reach the kitchen.

"No, I didn't burn anything," She said, getting that innocent wide eyed look he loved so much. "I was trying to fry something, and it got a little smoky, but I checked, it's not ruined I promise."

He smiled at her, "I'm sure it's wonderful. Can I at least keep you company in the kitchen?"

"No, just sit down. It's almost done."

He took a seat at the table, which had already been set for two. She was making quite the effort at being domestic, and while Obi-Wan found it adorable, he wasn't sure it would work. She came back out with two trays a few minutes later and set them down in front of him. She looked pleased enough with the job she'd done.

She served Obi-Wan, then herself, and sat down across from him. His eyes fixed on her breasts bouncing in the metal bikini while she struggled to open the bottle of Radian wine on the table.

Obi-Wan tried his food, seeing the eager look in her eye. To his surprise it wasn't just edible, it was good.

"Do you like it?" She asked expectantly.

"It's wonderful, thank you."

Meleana breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the force. I had to cook it three times," she laughed, "I set the first two on fire."

Obi-Wan smiled at her, "I would have made dinner if you'd asked."

"I know," she said between bites, "but I wanted to cook something. You always do all the work. Besides, something about seeing you all broken and bloody brought out the mother in me."

Force I'd like to make you a mother, Obi-Wan thought to him self. His eyes widened, wondering where in the galaxy that thought had come from. She giggled, and he had to think of some excuse for the shocked look on his face.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed," he said trying to speak in a level tone. "Food and a slave costume, it's a bit much."

"Well I thought if you'd brought your holocamera you'd want to take a few of me in this."

"I don't have one," he said.

Meleana pulled one from the booth next to her and set it down on the table.

"Lucky for you I do," she said sweetly as she took a sip of her wine.

"Are you sure?"

"I hardly think you'll be putting them on the holonet and showing them off to your friends. So yes, and just so you know, I've never let anyone else, so nude holos of me aren't floating around anywhere."

He took a long sip of his wine. He couldn't exactly say no, now could he? "Well I feel very honored."

Meleana took a few more bites of her food, before moving onto Obi-Wan's lap.

"I'm not really hungry, I was tasting things all night," she said taking his fork.

She lifted a bite of food to his mouth and he took it, whishing there was a polite way to say, I'd rather have sex with you than eat. He was relieved when his plate was clean, and the wine bottle empty.

Meleana placed the holocamera in the palm of his hand before slinking off into the bedroom.

"How do you want me?" She asked when he walked in.

Naked and screaming my name, he thought.

"I'm not sure."

Meleana gave him a disapproving look, "That's not true. Think about it this way," she moved up against him as she spoke. "You're alone in hyperspace, and you haven't seen me in moths, what do you want to jerk off too?"

"Oh nice and subtle," He said with a playful smile.

Meleana cocked her head and looked him over, "Are you blushing? I'm asking you to do dirty things to me, and you are hesitating. Did you forget your balls in the healing center?"

He shook his head, "Are you trying to goad me darling?"

"Maybe a little," She said with a shrug rolling over onto her back on her bed, "Are you ready to direct me yet?"

He gripped the holocamera. He had two options, tell her what to do and leave with a slew of naughty pictures, or toss the camera aside.

"Arch your back and put your finger in your mouth," he said while he readied the camera.

He took a few shots of her in various poses fully clothed in her slave outfit before having her remove her top. Thankfully the wine had dulled his senses enough that he didn't feel like a pervert for taking so many more of her topless than he had fully dressed. He had her lose the bottom next and turn towards him with her legs spread. By that point the bottle of wine had fully hit his system, and any inhibitions he'd had had were gone. If she'd brought props he'd have asked her to use them.

"Face away from me, on all fours, and spread your legs," He said, wanting at least one shot of her adorable little ass.

She did as he asked, and turned back towards him. The look in her eyes made him toss the camera onto the nightstand and kneeled on the bed behind her.

"Can you still do the tingly thing?" She asked shaking her hips.

"I can do anything you want love," He said pulling her body back into his.

"Shouldn't you take your clothes off?"

"Are you the director now?" He challenged while kicking his boots off.

Meleana rolled over onto her back and pushed him off the bed with her feet. "Get naked, then do the tingly thing," she said playfully. "I'll tingle more if you're naked," she added with a wink.

Meleana called the holocamera into her hands and started recording. She saw Obi-Wan arch his brow at her through the display.

"What are you doing?"

"Wondering why you've only taken your shirt off."

He extended an open hand towards her.

Meleana rolled her eyes and pointed the camera towards her self. "Obi, if you're watching this right now and wondering why there's no sex on it, I want you to remember it's because you are no fun."

"Heckling my future self does nothing for you," he took the camera from her and set it back on the nightstand.

Meleana bat her eyelashes and pouted dramatically. "Sorry, want to spank me?"

He shook his head with a smile and dropped his pants on the floor. He gripped her legs and slid her towards him. He pulled them apart and kneeled between them.

His lips pressed into hers while his hands ran down her body. As they did Meleana felt her body begin to tingle. She moaned into the kiss, the soft motion of his hands, which had been barely noticeable before, was now sending jolts of pleasure through her. She'd been aroused before he'd laid a hand on her, now her body was screaming for him.

His mouth moved over her neck biting and sucking her skin teasingly. Meleana made a strained sound. Every second the ache inside of her got stronger, and her ability to form a rational thought diminished. Her hips moved towards his. His mouth and hands continued to move over her body, but weren't hitting any of the right places.

She gripped the sheets, clenching her fists as tightly as she could. She was already panting, and he'd only just started. When his mouth covered her nipple she arched into him, her cries echoed through the small room. The fire inside of her was only briefly extinguished by the suction on her breasts. She needed something inside of her, preferably Obi-Wan, but at the moment she wasn't too particular.

Obi-Wan looked up at Meleana when she started pleading with him. He'd thought he'd at least have a few minutes before she completely lost her mind. She wasn't even forming complete sentences, it sounded as though she were reading through a list of dirty words while having an orgasm.

He closed his eyes and went back to lavishing attention on her breasts. Her body arched off the bed. With the way she was reacting to such slight stimulation he was a little worried about what actual contact would do to her. His palm brushed between her legs and she cried out loud enough to make his ears ring.

Her climax seemed to have only made things worse. Her hips pushed against him while her hands gripped clumsily over his body. She'd gone back to begging, and as much as he wanted to give in to her demands, he wanted to hear her plead for just a little longer.

Her hips arched up, and his hands slipped off her sweat slicked thighs. She nearly knocked him off the bed while he tried to regain his grip on her. He moved back up her body, if she were going to start getting violent he'd better give her what she wanted.


	19. Chapter 19

Meleana was still in a daze when she woke up the next morning. She felt the weight of Obi-Wan's body on top of hers. His head was resting on her chest, his arms and legs tangled around her. Meleana gently slid out from under him and made her way to the shower.

While attempting to make breakfast, Meleana heard her comlink beeping in the other room. She hurried into the main room to answer it before it woke Obi-Wan.

"Guess who's not a Padawan anymore!" Ketana's voice was far too cheerful for the early hour.

"Congratulations," Meleana was struck by the hoarseness of her voice. She had done a lot of screaming the night before…

"Are you sick?" Ketana asked.

"No," Meleana cleared her throat to see if it would help. Looking at the food in the pan turn from golden to brown she began to scramble. "I need to go, I'm trying not to set anything on fire."

"You're cooking? This early in the morning… and you can't talk?" Ketana giggled.

"Don't say anything."

"I wasn't going too," she paused, "Who is it?"

"I'm not saying," She grabbed a spatula and pried her veggies off the pan.

"So it's someone I know?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Is he a Jedi?"

"I need to go."

"He is a Jedi," Ketana sounded a little too excited.

"Congratulations on the Knighthood. I'm sure I'll talk to you later," Meleana tossed her comlink down on the counter and plated the only slightly over done food.

Something clanging against the nightstand woke Obi-Wan. Meleana was standing over the bed in a white nightgown. She looked down at him and smiled.

"Hungry?"

He sat up and examined the tray she'd set down on the nightstand. The food looked edible. Meleana picked up her plate and cup of tea and sat down next to him.

"It's not poisoned," she said with a laugh.

He took a few tentative bites before deciding the food wasn't nearly as bad as what she'd cooked when he first met her.

"I don't even remember falling asleep," She said between bites.

"Yes, I figured you were asleep when the moaning stopped."

Meleana blushed.

Obi-Wan put his plate down and the camera on the table caught his eye. "It's a good thing I stopped you from recording last night. Do you even remember the depravity that was coming from your mouth?"

"Vaguely," Meleana set her tea down and pulled off her nightgown, revealing the red marks covering her breasts and bruised thighs, "on the other hand, if we'd recorded it, at least I'd remember how all of this happened."

Obi-Wan dragged her into his lap and planted a soft kiss on each of her swollen nipples. "I'll admit I did get a little rough with these, but the thighs are your fault."

"Well no one told you to put your head down there."

"Actually you did, several times."

Meleana glanced over at the clock, "You know there's still one part of me that's not sore. Think you have time to work on it?"

"Just one? I must be forgetting part of last night as well."

Meleana slid up against him, "Does that mean you have time?"

His hands ran gently down her hips, "I would like nothing more than to spend the mourning making you sore, but I've got a Padawan who will be wondering where I am."

Meleana pouted, "Not even a quicky?"

Obi-Wan grinned and kissed her softly, "We'll have plenty of time for that tonight."

Meleana lay back on the bed and pulled the blankets over her. "I'll just work on recovering from last night then. I should do something Jedi-like to justify being here I guess."

Obi-Wan gave her another gentle kiss, "I'll see you tonight."

Meleana rolled onto the side of bed Obi-Wan had slept on and breathed in his scent. He'd just left and she already missed him. Which wasn't a good thing. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the troubling longing she was feeling. It wasn't long before she was sleeping again.

Meleana sat up in bed quickly.. What was that sound? Had she been screaming? She felt her chest, the pain from her dream still lingered. The same dream, vision, whatever it was, over and over. She almost wished Obi-Wan was there so she could crawl into his arms. On the other hand she wasn't big on making him think she was crazy, and there was no way she was telling anyone about these visions.

She was sure she knew what they meant. She was as good as dead, her days were numbered, time to hang up her lightsaber for good. Or it could be just a dream. Or it could have nothing to do with her, and be a vision of someone else. Cheerful…

She glanced over at the clock. If it was to be believed, she'd slept the whole day away. She stretched and went back into the kitchen. Eat sleep, repeat, was a nice way to spend a day when you'd just gotten back from a mission. The sex wasn't bad either.

Meleana scooped the datapad off of her nightstand and checked her mail. Not something she did very often, as she didn't usually get any. Much to her surprise there was a message sitting in her in box. One of her very few non-Jedi friends had sent it to her. She read it over a couple of times, not sure what to make of it. Her friend seemed generally concerned that the creaky old house that belonged to her husband-to-be was haunted. Not only that, but she was sure it had at one time, long ago, been home to a Sith.

All in all this was a little heavy for her sex-eat-sleep day. Besides, it wasn't as though she could be the one to go investigate it. Sure she could ask the council for some time to explore on her own, but she'd been in enough hot water lately. She sent a reply telling her friend, Darlene, that she'd do best to send a request directly to the Jedi Council, along with any proof she'd collected. She felt a little guilty brushing her off, but in the event this wasn't just paranoia over an old house, Meleana wasn't really the right person for the job anyway.

Her comlink had a message from Ketana, asking, or more demanding, she join her in the dining hall for dinner. Meleana glanced up at the clock, she had enough time for a shower.

"There you are!" Ketana waved to get Meleana's attention. "I was beginning to think I'd been stood up."

"I can't stand you up if I never agreed to show up in the first place," Meleana set down her tray before sitting down next to her friend.

The dining hall had just begun to get crowded.

"So tell me about the Jedi," Ketana's eyes glittered eagerly.

"Well they're dedicated to maintaining peace-"

"Not about the Jedi in general. The one you were making breakfast for. This is the second one isn't it?"

Meleana shook her head, "Same one. Not that it's any of your business."

Ketana furrowed her brow, "Since when is your sex life private? I need to live vicariously through you. It's important to me."

"That's so amazingly creepy."

Ketana's mouth hung open, she was about to reply, but a youngling had just taken a seat next to the purple eyed Jedi, and that was definitely not normal.

"Hi Anakin," Meleana said and shoveled some food into her mouth.

"Did you get a Padawan?"

Meleana took a deep breath after she'd swallowed. Was Ketana ever going to stop asking questions and launch into an actual conversation?

"No, he's my son. You don't remember my teen pregnancy?"

Anakin gave her a troubled look, but seemed unsure of what to say.

Ketana's eyes widened and she leaned into Meleana, "It's his Padawan isn't it!" She whispered excitedly.

"Ket, drop it, or I'm going to drop you."

"In the dinning hall?"

"Into your dinner if I must."

Meleana watched Ketana give Obi-Wan a once over as he approached the table. She nodded approvingly and Meleana let out a frustrated sigh. The two Jedi introduced themselves as Meleana thought over ways to convince Ketana she had the wrong idea about Obi-Wan.

She was vaguely aware of the polite conversation that had started up at the table as she stared scornfully into her side dish.

"Jedi Ariadne? Are you alright?" Anakin asked.

She looked at the Padawan, who had cleaned his plate. So had everyone else apparently. Which explained why he was looking so worried. She'd been glaring at vegetables while everyone else had polished off their meals.

"Yes Anakin, I just find root vegetables troubling."

It was about this time that Anakin decided he should stop talking to Meleana unless it was absolutely necessary.

Obi-Wan dismissed Anakin, who wasted no time running off on his own. Unfortunately without the Padawan Ketana lost any restraint she'd had in questioning Obi-Wan. Meleana glared over at her friend when she asked why Meleana's throat had been so sore earlier.

"Time for you to go," Meleana said firmly.

"This is a public space," Ketana countered.

Meleana let out a puff of air, "Time for us to go," she said to Obi-Wan.

She heard him say something polite to Ketana as she hurried away.

"She seems nice," Obi-Wan said when he'd caught up to her. "A little nosy, but otherwise perfectly lovely."

"A little nosy? If she hadn't made it to Jedi Knight I'd say she has a promising career in journalism. Or interrogating prisoners."

"So she wants to know more about me," He shrugged, "It's perfectly natural."

"I didn't tell her anything… not recently at least. There's no reason she should even think we have," Meleana stopped talking when another Jedi passed within earshot. "She should mind her own business is all I'm saying."

Obi-Wan nodded, he seemed to not feel this was an argument worth having. "I'll be leaving for a mission in a few days."

Meleana pouted, "A long one?"

"I can't be sure based on the mission briefing. Hopefully it will be short. Though with our luck you'll be on a mission when I get back."

Meleana walked up the ramp to her ship. As soon as the door swished closed behind Obi-Wan she had her arms around his neck.

"Good thing we're getting an early start then."

He pulled her tightly to him by her waste and kissed her soft lips. "You know, one of these days I am going to spend a day with you that doesn't involve sex."

Meleana smiled, "Really? You think you can go a whole day?"

Obi-Wan's blue-gray eyes locked onto hers, "It doesn't bother you that whenever we're together all we do is have sex?"

"Or run for our lives."

"No deflecting."

Meleana's eyes narrowed. It annoyed her that she was being forced to answer this sort of a question. She knew what he wanted to hear. That it did. That she wanted to feel like they had a deeper connection beyond sex, but that would be a lie. Why did she have to be the man in this relationship? Now how was she going to let him down lightly.

"We can just talk when we're old and unattractive," Meleana would admit that this wasn't the best answer, but it was the best she could do.

Obi-Wan broke his contact with her. "Really?"

Meleana sighed. "Look, it's not like I'm just using you for sex, but really, sex is all I need from the opposite sex. Well that and the occasional thing from a high shelf."

"So you feel no deeper connection to me than that?" His demeanor had completely changed. His arms were folded across his chest, feet planted firmly in the floor.

"Obi-Wan," Meleana looked up at the ceiling and sighed, then back at him. "Even if I weren't a Jedi, I am not hard wired for emotional attachment. I like you, I do, but I don't know what you want from me here."

"I'm not asking you too… you have no feelings for me at all?"

Meleana took a deep breath and an expression that looked at little like heartbreak came across her face. "Even if I did, would it matter? We're Jedi. It's not as though we'll be getting married and raising a few kids in the midrim. The best we can hope for is," Force what was the opposite of casual sex? "formal sex in between long dry spells. I thought you understood this better than I did."

Meleana watched Obi-Wan for any reaction. He didn't have one. He stood still as a statue for what felt like a century.

"Mind if I take a shower?" He finally asked.

Meleana stepped out of his path and motioned towards the bathroom door. "Of course not."

She ran her hands through her hair and let out a deep sigh when the door to the bathroom shut. Her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts she wasn't comfortable thinking. She changed into a nightgown. Thinking that would go over well no matter how Obi-Wan was feeling when he got out of the shower. Serious conversations were never fun naked, but the nightgown wouldn't take long to remove.

She was getting a little frustrated with him. Every time she'd gotten comfortable with where things were between them he changed them. She was fine with… whatever it was they were to each other, but how much further could things between them possibly go? The idea that he might be in love with her popped into her head. She groaned and picked up her datapad. She needed a distraction ASAP.

Just as she'd gotten comfortable the buzzer rang. Thinking Ketana was back for more eaves dropping, she tossed the datapad aside with a curse. She opened the door and barely had time to register her surprise at seeing the man who'd followed her through the streets, the same one who had told her she was going to die, before she was rendered unconscious.

The length of Obi-Wan's shower would have made a conservationist cringe. He'd heard the ships buzzer go off a while ago, but since he hadn't heard any voices he'd assumed it had just been a quick visitor. Nothing for him to worry about. Besides, he already had enough of his own problems. Obviously this was one relationship where the man should not be the first one to say the three magic words. If he even loved her at all. Why bother with all this if he didn't? And was her position seriously, why bother with it if we do?

He was still trying to decide if he should continue the conversation, or let it go, and try again later. After what must have been an hour he decided to act as though nothing had happened. He couldn't force her to love him, or even like him. He'd just accept that things were the way they were.

He walked into her room. She was passed out on the bed in one of her little silk nightgowns. Something about her seemed different. She was paler, and there was a bruise on her arm where there hadn't been one before.

He slid onto the bed and scooped her into his arms, gently shaking her and calling her name to rouse her. She let out a low moan and slowly opened her eyes as though she'd only been sleeping.

"What happened?" He asked. He should have noticed something was off, and would have if he hadn't been so wrapped up in his feelings for her. Did she knock herself out just to win an argument? He asked again when she didn't respond.

"Oh, nothing. I just fell asleep."

He shook his head and gently traced the bruise on her arm with his thumb. The center of the black and blue mark had a small prick, with a few drops of fresh blood trickling from it.

Meleana looked down in confusion at the sore spot on her arm. "I was just reading."

"Who was at the door?"

Meleana's face tightened, as though trying to remember hurt a little. "A man…" Her head cleared when she remembered the conversation she'd had with this man. How would she explain that? Some friend of a friend who was convinced she was going to die? A stalker who was now collecting odd souvenirs, that would go over well.

"I don't know who it was," She said, "but I'm fine. Temple security should really be paid less. They don't do very much."

"I'm not sure they're paid at all."

"That could be the problem."

"We should go to the medcenter," he said sternly.

"Why? Aren't you feeling well?" She gave him a big smile.

Meleana ran her hand over his cheek. "All that time in the shower and you didn't shave?"

"Medcenter."

"Lets just go up to your room. Please. I don't want to deal with healers. I'm fine."

"I think I'd rather stay her. If he comes back I'd like to tare his arms off and feed them to him."

Meleana arched her brow. "That's very Jedi-like."

"It's just an arm. Or two…"

"People need their arms Obi."

He sighed, "How about a hand?"

"You can't just go around chopping off peoples hands. Not everyone can afford a replacement."

"Well I respectfully disagree. But I think in order to really settle this we should ask an expert. Perhaps one of the healers in the medcenter would know how attainable replacement arms are for the masses."

Meleana closed her eyes to keep from rolling them. "I am not going to the medcenter."

"Just let them look at you."

Meleana looked up at him with wide eyes and kissed him. Once she was sure he was distracted she moved her hand between the fold of his towel.

"That isn't going to work," He said.

"Really?" Meleana said in an innocent tone, "because it feels like its working just fine."

"You were drugged and stabbed."

"With something very small. Stab me with something big."

Obi-Wan pulled her hand away, "You're terrible."

"I am not going to the medcenter, and you are going to have sex with me."

"So sure of that?"

Meleana winked at him, "Absolutely."

She sat up and pulled his towel away then shoved him down on the bed. Before he could protest or try to escape her lips were moving over his.

"Stop," He moaned.

Meleana moaned negatively.

"Melea… you… oh force… medcenter…"

He waited for her to catch her breath before saying, "We're going to the medcenter now."


	20. Chapter 20

After spending the night being poked and prodded by healers, Meleana was in no mood for anything come morning. Though she'd been kept up all night it was ultimately determined that there was nothing wrong with her. Not that she needed anyone to tell her that. She heard a familiar voice bark her name from down the hall and turned slowly back towards Master Windu.

"Good Morning Master," she said with a bow.

"Jedi Ariadne, I heard you spent the night in the halls of healing. I trust you are feeling better?"

Meleana nodded. She couldn't think of anything to say aside from "I'm worse off now than I was."

"The Council received a communication from someone claiming to be a friend of yours, Darlean Sorn. The Council and I were wondering if you could give us some incite into how credible she is."

Meleana could hardly process the question, much less recall why her civilian friend would be talking to the Jedi Council.

"She's," Meleana tried to think of what characteristics of Darlean's would be relevant, "perfectly sane, normal. Uh... she designs holo-games. What did she want from the Council?"

"Nothing which concerns you. We are deciding whether or not to assign a Jedi to investigate her claims. In your experience does she have a tendency to overreact? Scare easily? See something where there is nothing?"

"No Master. She isn't the type to bother the Council for no reason. If she's asked you for something I would take her seriously."

As Master Windu's eyes scanned Meleana's features the letter she had received from her friend popped back into her head. The Jedi Master seemed to react to Meleana's moment of clarity faster than she did.

"Thank you Jedi Ariadne, that will be all."

Meleana furrowed her brow. Was she just dismissed from the hallway? She bowed and continued on her way, now even less pleased with the world than she had been. Her friend had some minor, possibly Sith related issues, and the Council didn't even trust her enough to fill her in on the details?

She continued to walk at a brisk pace down the long hall, hoping to get back to her ship and go to sleep before anyone else noticed her. It should have occurred to her that walking past the training rooms was a bad idea if she wanted to avoid Obi-Wan, but it wasn't until she heard him call after her in the hall that she realized her error.

"What?" She snapped spinning on her heel to face him.

The smile on his face faded when he saw the icy look she was giving him. "What?" He asked.

"What?" Meleana repeated. "No how are you? Sorry? Nothing, just what?"

"Well if there was a mirror in this corridor I think you'd understand the question."

"I'm not in the mood to have a productive conversation."

"No, you look like you'd like to..." Obi-Wan glanced over at another Jedi in the corridor, "you don't look happy to see me."

Meleana waited for the other Jedi to walk out of earshot before she spoke. "No I am not happy to see you. I got to stay up all night being poked and prodded for no damn reason. Which gave me a lot of time to think about your little revelation last night. And I decided if you weren't so inappropriately attached to me, I would have spent the night in my bed, rather than pointlessly being tested, for what amounted to nothing!"

"You're upset with me for caring about you?"

"No, I can't be mad at you for having feelings. I can on the other hand think you're a complete idiot. I can be upset with you for sending me to the med-center despite my repeated requests not to go. You're treating me like I'm your Padawan!"

"I don't think this is an appropriate place to have this conversation."

Meleana looked around the hall, "I don't have anything else to say to you. Have a nice mission."

Meleana didn't see Obi-Wan again before his mission. It was over a month before Meleana spoke to any Jedi for more than a few moments. In that time nothing much had happened. No one she knew was attacked, including herself. Her nightmares had gone away. Things seemed to be getting back to normal. She realized too late that this was a bad sign.

She was called up to the Council chambers in the late afternoon. When she arrived only Master Windu was present, and he had a grave look on his face. Given Meleana's experience with Master Windu that look could only lead to trouble.

"What I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated," He said standing and walking towards one of the large windows in the council room. "Recently we have gained intelligence which leads us to believe we may have found the location of an ancient Sith weapon."

Well that sounded vaguely threatening, Meleana thought to herself. Or maybe it was vague and threatening?

"We don't have many details, only that this weapon is on Korriban, and a general area to search."

When Master Windu fell silent Meleana couldn't help but question the Jedi Master. "Master, it is not my place to question the council," but she was going to anyway, "but, why me?" She didn't feel the question needed any further explanation.

"We cannot afford to attract any attention. You are highly underestimated by your peers, no one will think to inquire about a mission on which only the two of us were present. I've been training you, I know your capabilities, and it isn't easy to find transport to Korriban during the school holidays."

Meleana stitched her brows. There was a compliment in there somewhere. "Thank you Master," She said bowing her head slightly, "When are we departing?" And where the hell is Korriban? And why don't all the Jedi have their own damn star ships?

"This evening, just after the evening meal. I trust you will be able to study the mission, and the planet on route. Though surely you have some memory of it from your history lessons?"

"Surely," Meleana repeated with a small nod. She should have doodled less and studied more.

"That is all for now, you may go make the necessary preparations now. It will be a long journey."

Meleana bowed and departed. When she reached her floor she all but jogged to her ship. If she was going to be playing host to a Council member there were a lot of things that needed to be removed from her ship. She had the added annoyance of needing to restock supplies.

Obi-Wan was just about to head down to the evening meal when there was a banging at his door. He opened it and Meleana smiled at him on the other side. She looked disheveled, and a little crazed.

"Can I come in?"

He nodded and stepped to the side to make room for her. He shut the door behind her and she dropped a large duffel bag onto the floor.

"Do you mind holding onto this stuff for me?"

Obi-Wan arched his brow, she hadn't spoken to him in a month, and now she wanted a favor.

"So I take it it's no longer convenient for you to be mad at me?" He asked folding his arms.

Meleana's jaw clenched and she took a deep breath before responding. "I'm sorry, but you've only been back for a couple of days, it's not as though I was actively avoiding you for a whole month."

"Well a com-call would have been nice," he said.

"You are such a woman!"

Obi-Wan glared down at the duffel bag, then back up at her.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got upset. I know you were only doing what you thought was best for me. I'm sorry I didn't call, I just got busy, and I didn't want to bother you in the middle of something important, I'm sorry sorry sorry."

Obi-Wan smiled a little, "So what's in the bag?"

"Nothing dangerous, if used correctly." The look she was getting told her that was the wrong answer. "I'm going on a mission with Master Windu, these are all the things he can't see."

"So why would I want them in my room?"

Meleana's eyes got big and her lips got pouty, "Because you love me and you want to protect me from bad things?"

"That is grossly manipulative."

"No, that's only a little manipulative, I'm very skilled in inter-sexual negotiations."

"Well thank goodness some kind of Jedi training sunk in."

Obi-Wan grabbed the bag before she could stop him, it was heavier than he expected. He unzipped it, peaked inside, and could feel his face flush immediately.

"Why haven't I seen any of this before? And why do you have so many different kinds of Correllian rum? And I've never seen you smoke."

"It never came up, I enjoy Correllian beverages, and I only smoke when I have had too many Correllian beverages, they are also herbal."

"What does that pink thing even do?"

Meleana rolled her eyes and looked at the clock, "Will you hold onto it or not?"

"What will you do for me?"

"I'll spend the next half hour naked and let you do whatever you want to me."

"Half hour? I can't try these out in half an hour! I still don't know what three of them are for!"

"Assuming I don't die on Korriban, I can show you later."

"Well that seems fairly likely."

Meleana rolled her eyes, "Twenty nine minutes."

"There's no reason you can't take your clothing off while I chastise you. You may die on Korriban, and its been over a month since I've been able to give you any grief. I've got quite a lot to make up for."

Before Meleana had made it back to her ship her comlink started buzzing. She answered it and Master Windu's voice came clearly through.

"Jedi Ariadne, a few new details have come to light, and I've decided it would be best to bring another Jedi along. I will be delayed, but we will still be departing this evening. The mission may be more dangerous than I had originally anticipated. I suggest you bring along additional medical supplies."

"Yes Master," Meleana disconnected her comlink and started to puzzle over who Master Windu might choose. Not a Council member, that would raise to much suspicion, if it was a Sith world and he was worried about confrontation, he would want someone who'd faced the darkside before. Or someone he knew well. Meleana stopped in her tracks. Someone who wouldn't go all Sith lord when confronted with the darkside, someone who knew how to fight force users… someone who would make her life a living hell with a Council member on board.


	21. Chapter 21

Before Meleana had made it back to her ship her comlink started buzzing. She answered it and Master Windu's voice came clearly through.

"Jedi Ariadne, a few new details have come to light, and I've decided it would be best to bring another Jedi along. I will be delayed, but we will still be departing this evening. The mission may be more dangerous than I had originally anticipated. I suggest you bring along additional medical supplies."

"Yes Master," Meleana disconnected her comlink and started to puzzle over who Master Windu might choose. Not a Council member, that would raise to much suspicion, if it was a Sith world and he was worried about confrontation, he would want someone who'd faced the darkside before. Or someone he knew well. Meleana stopped in her tracks. Someone who wouldn't go all Sith lord when confronted with the darkside, someone who knew how to fight force users… someone who would make her life a living hell with a Council member on board.

When she saw Obi-Wan walk onto her ship carrying a duffle bag similar to the one she left in his room her suspicions were confirmed. She clearly didn't need the force to see the future.

"Well this is great," Meleana said sarcastically.

"I fail to see the problem. Anakin won't be coming, they think it's too dangerous for him. I swear he must feel like the foster child of the Jedi order, the way they're always swapping him around the Council."

"The problem, Obi-Wan, is that I have a very hard time being in a room with you without having sex with you. I am trained in diplomacy, and when I met you, it was all I could do not to punch you in the face most of the time, and I still ripped your clothing off. So maybe, just maybe, that's a bad thing with a Council member."

"It would be fine if you weren't a screamer."

Meleana's mouth dropped, but she couldn't reply before Master Windu boarded the ship.

"You may take off Jedi Ariadne," He said with a nod.

Meleana rejoined them in the main room after they had entered hyperspace. The journey would be long. Longer with Obi-Wan than it would have been without. She hated being around him with their clothing on.

"I assume since you two have been assigned on several mission together that you have a good feel for each other?" Master Windu asked.

Meleana's heart skipped a beat, they'd definitely had a good feel alright, "Yes, we've seen each other in action a number of times," Meleana said, wishing she'd kept a few more bottles of rum.

"We've even sparred a few times," Obi-Wan smiled innocently at her, "I'd say we have an intimate knowledge of each others abilities."

Master Windu nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Good. We could face any number of things on Korriban, it's important that we be able to move together, to allow the force to flow through us, so we may become as one."

It was about this time Meleana began to wonder if sticking her lightsaber through her temple would be considered detrimental to the mission.

"The Sith will try to penetrate our minds, to plant the seed of evil within us."

As Master Windu continued she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. She worried if she showed any signs of emotions she might do both. Often times in her life she'd wished she didn't have such a perverse sense of humor, but never more than now.

"Master Windu, is their any indication as to what this weapon is supposed to do?" Obi-Wan asked. Meleana couldn't have been happier that the subject had been changed.

"It is best we not discuss it. The fewer people who know, the better. When we arrive at the planet our first task will be finding it. We have narrowed down the possible locations, but aerial scans will allow us to gain more information on the location. The Sith have made Korriban a strong hold for thousands of years. Finding the correct location may prove more difficult than we'd hoped."

"How long ago was this weapon placed there?" Meleana asked, finally feeling it was safe to open her mouth.

"The closest approximation we have as to the timeline is before the Jedi civil war, though we don't know within a few hundred years how long before."

"And it still works?" Meleana asked skeptically.

Master Windu gave her an impatient glance. "All that matters Jedi Ariadne, is that we find and destroy this weapon. That is our mission, and all you need to know."

The silence that followed made Meleana feel incredibly awkward. She wanted to excuse herself and go to bed. She'd already had a chance to shower thanks to the delay. She worried if she left to soon after being reprimanded Master Windu would think she was leaving because she couldn't handle not having her way.

Her comlink buzzed and she answered it a little to eagerly. Rendain's voice greated her on the other end and she politely excused herself.

"Listen," Rendain said before she could ask him how he was, "I have some business I need to attend to, and I'll be leaving Coruscant for a while. I thought you might like to know you'll need to find another body guard for your friend."

Meleana sighed, "She's not really my friend, or my responsibility. You know her better than I do at this point. Has she been attacked recently?"

"No, only on the rare occasion."

"Well if she needs protection she can hire someone. I'm not even on Coruscant."

"Where are you going?"

"I can't say," Meleana flopped down on her bed, "What about you."

"I could say, but won't," She could hear him smiling, "Stay out of trouble. I've got to get going."

"You too."

She tossed her comlink to the side and shut her eyes. She was only half on the bed, and hadn't thought she would fall asleep, but the next time she opened her eyes they clock said it was early morning.

She sat up slowly, her whole body was stiff from sleeping in such an awkward position. She did a few stretches before walking into the main room. It was dark, only the emergency lights were on. She could feel something out of place the second she entered the room. Like a dull hum of foreboding. She scanned the room for the source of the disturbance, it didn't take long to find it. A small gold and black triangular object was set on the table. Meleana recognized it instantly as a Sith holocron. She muttered a slight curse as she stared at the object. It would have been nice to know it was there.

She found she'd completely forgotten why she'd come into the room as she stared at the harmless looking object. She was repulsed by it, and found she was suddenly feeling very ill, but she kept inching closer towards it. To do what? She wondered. There wasn't any reason she needed to look at such a thing. The again, she should know what they were getting themselves in to. If Master Windu hadn't wanted her to look at it he wouldn't have left it out. She stopped herself before she reached out to touch it and turned back towards the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

She wasn't exactly pleased to have something like that on her ship. Especially without warning. She was wondering why Master Windu would leave it out, when she heard footsteps in the main room. He must have assumed no one else would see it at this hour of the morning. Now she wasn't quite sure what to do. Did she turn on all the lights and cheerfully offer him a glass of tea? Slink off into her room like she hadn't noticed anything? Since Master Windu was occupied, couldn't she just go into the cabin and have her way with Obi-Wan for a few minutes? No, that probably wasn't a good idea.

Meleana put plans for breakfast on hold, she was still feeling sick to her stomach, and opted to grab a bottle of juice instead. She walked through the main room, nodding to Master Windu as she hurried into her bedroom.

She left her room several hours later and found herself alone in the main portion of the ship. The holocron was placed in whatever containment Master Windu had brought along for it, and she wasn't feeling ill anymore. She went into the kitchen and started making breakfast. She'd just started chopping vegetables when the door slid open behind her.

"Good morning," Obi-Wan said coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her abdomen.

"What are you doing?" She tried to ignore him and continued her work.

"Saying good morning," He said kissing her neck. His hands slid under the waist or her pants.

"To me, or my vagina?"

He chuckled, "A little of both."

She slammed the knife down on the cutting board. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Master Windu went to bed an hour ago. He has no reason to wake up any time soon, and I don't think he wants to catch us. He'll see what he wants to see. My guess is that's nothing."

"Did you know he brought a Sith holocron?" Meleana's hips jerked involuntarily when his fingers started caressing her.

"Yes."

"Of course you did. Because when he said he didn't want us to know anything her just meant me. The incompetent one."

"I'm sure he invited you on a very dangerous mission because he thinks you're incompetent."

Meleana rolled her eyes, "He needed my ship."

"He could have taken it anyway. If you had stayed up later you would have known about the holocron too. He brought it up just before I went to bed. Now, will you please relax?"

"You really think its safe?"

"It's a bit late to have the safe sex talk, don't you think?" When she didn't have a positive reaction he added, "I wouldn't have my hands in your pants if I didn't."

For the duration of the journey the Jedi Knights didn't see much of the Jedi Master. Master Windu made it a point to stay on an opposing sleep schedule to study the holocron. Neither Meleana nor Obi-Wan had any reason to complain about this. Especially since it left their mornings free. Until the morning they arrived on Korriban they were relatively happy. Even orbiting the planet they could feel the darkside radiating from it.

Before they could land Meleana had to scan the planet to narrow down the locations of the weapon. Given Korriban's long bloody history they could very well find and destroy a completely different weapon than the one they were searching for, or just blow up a Sith tomb, which none of them were really opposed to. It was because of all the various possibilities that they couldn't simply blow the thing up from above. They had to go down and confirm they were destroying the correct thing, and that it wasn't buried too deeply for it to be unaffected by a blast.

"Why can't we just blow up the whole planet?" Meleana muttered as she and Obi-Wan gazed down at the desolate world.

Obi-Wan gave her a questioning look, clearly wondering if he actually needed to answer that question for her.

"It would be easier for me to find this place if I knew something about it," Meleana said going over the scan results. Big shocker, Korriban is crawling with giant Sith tombs. That's about all."

Meleana continued to look over the scans as they continued. Obi-Wan made no effort to peer over her shoulder. He was kicked back in the copilots seat with his feet up on the controls.

"Do you think Master Windu is acting a bit odd?" She asked turning away from the scans.

"Aside from his odd sleep patterns? I haven't noticed anything. Why?"

"Nothing, I'm sure I'm just reading into things," She slapped his feet down off the controls and went back to reviewing the planet.

"Do you think we need the holocron?" Obi-Wan asked after a long period of silence. "Maybe it will help us pinpoint something."

Meleana turned and looked at him as though he'd just suggested she wash her hair in a toilet. "You want to use the holocron?"

He shrugged, "There must be some reason Master Windu asked us to bring it."

Meleana turned back to her work. "You've been spending to much time sleeping in a room with that thing. I think its beginning to get to you. Given you've spent the past hour staring at my ass while I do all the work, I think there may be a few other things to try before we result to using the darkside." She turned towards him as though she'd just been reminded of something. "Come to think of it, since you started sleeping with that thing you've been much less… yourself."

"First Master Windu, now me? I think you are reading into things darling. Besides, I hardly think sleeping a meter away would keep it from affecting you."

Meleana wasn't to pleased about being dismissed so quickly, twice, but she went back to working as though nothing had happened. She was on the other hand now much more aware of Obi-Wan's eyes on her.

"Can you get me something to eat while I work on this?" She said in a harsher tone than she meant, "Please," she added in a softer voice.

Meleana started inputting the data she'd just collected, along with the little pieces of information Master Windu had given her. The computer came up with eleven possible locations. All looked like the could be what they were looking for. All of them could have contained Sith weapons and secrets of their own. She found herself wanting to blow the whole planet up again. She imported old scans of the planet from the Jedi archives, which narrowed down the pile to four.

She nearly jumped out of her seat when Obi-Wan set a plate down next to her, she was so lost in her own thoughts.

"Any of these places jump out at you?"

"Force I hope not," He said looking over her shoulder, "They all look the same."

Meleana continued to stare at the screen while she ate her sandwich. Even sitting above the planet disgusted her. She wasn't looking forward to landing, but the only way to get away from it was to complete their mission. Which meant figuring out where their mission was.

She let out a sigh of resignation, she'd gotten as far as she could without having more information. Hopefully Master Windu would be able to figure out the rest.


	22. Chapter 22

Judging by the sun it was early afternoon when their ship touched down on Korriban. The air was dry and cold. The entire world was eerily still, save for the three Jedi walking out of the ship and onto its surface. Master Windu had quickly picked one of the four remaining area's. He hadn't explained his reasoning, but neither of the Jedi Knights questioned him.

Meleana pulled her robe tightly around her as a cold gust of wind hit them. Nevermind the overwhelming presence of the dark side, the cold dry climate was enough to make her hate the place. There were no visible signs of a tomb or other monument around them, but Master Windu was walking purposely towards something. He stopped suddenly and lifted his arms. The ground in front of him moved up a few feet. A small door had raised out of the ground, it opened at an odd angle. They'd have to climb in backwards to fit through, or risk dropping head first. With another wave of the Jedi Master's hand the door opened, sending dirt flying into the wind as it did.

"I'll go first," Obi-Wan volunteered.

Master Windu stepped to the side and Obi-Wan lifted himself into the awkward space.

"There's a ladder," He called from inside, "It seems stable. Can't tell how far down it goes."

After a moment Master Windu motioned for Meleana to climb in. She did, assuming it was safe since they hadn't heard anything else from Obi-Wan. Within thirty seconds of climbing all of the sunlight was gone. She could feel the space getting narrower, and it was already pitch black. She resisted the strong urge to call out to Obi-Wan to make sure he was alright. A light came from below her and she realized he must already be on the ground. She set her feet down on the ground and looked around. Obi-Wan had already taken a few steps into the stone chamber. He moved the glowrod in his left hand around the walls trying to make out the carvings.

"What does it say?" Meleana asked stepping to his side.

He shook his head, "Nothing I understand."

They turned when they heard Master Windu's feet hit the ground. He lit his own glowrod and lead the party forwards without glancing at the chamber walls. Large stone doors were set in front of them. As they opened the exit became blocked. Meleana wondered what sort of defenses a Sith could put on a place that a Jedi couldn't penetrate. Through the stone doors she had one of her answers. The chamber lead into a natural section of caves, in what must have at one point been an underground river. The Jedi would make their way through it, but it would take some time to find the right tunnels.

Meleana spotted a rodent off to their right. It looked harmless, a little on the large side, but it was cute and round, not at all the sort of thing she'd expected to see on a Sith world. It opened its mouth to reveal large pointed teeth and hissed at her. That was more what she'd expected. She shrieked and both of the male Jedi drew their lightsabers. They scanned the cave at eye level then looked at her questioningly.

"Darkside vermin," she said pointing at where the rodent had been before her shouting had frightened it off.

Neither of them looked pleased at her excuse. They turned their backs to her and continued on down the first, and largest tunnel. At the end of the path were three more, all blocked off with a large stone. Master Windu lifted his hand to move one, and seemed to be doing so with intense difficulty. He created an opening large enough for them to squeeze through and stopped.

"The influence of the darkside is strong here, we should try not to use the force unless it is absolutely necessary." He said and lead them into the tunnel.

Meleana gave him a look similar to the one he'd given her about the rodent. Why would they be unable to use the force? She'd never heard anything about Jedi not being able to use the lightside of the force when the darkside was around. She looked expectantly at Obi-Wan before they crawled through the opening. He just shook his head.

The next path was much more narrow, and seemed impossibly long. It snaked around, making it difficult for them to tell which direction they were going in. Meleana stopped as they passed another stone door, this one had a few large hieroglyphs on it. She pressed her ear against the door. What she'd thought at first to be water now sounded more like a human voice.

"Master," She said softly, "Do you hear that?"

Obi-Wan and Mace retraced their steps to press their ears against the door.

"I hear nothing, we should continue," He gave Meleana an appraising glance and continued back on his way.

Obi-Wan gave her a look of concern. "What did you hear?"

"A voice," She said quietly as they continued on.

"Saying what?"

"I'm not sure. It could have been water." Meleana stopped a few meters down the tunnel, sure again that she heard something. This time it sounded like stone scraping behind them. She spun around just in time to see a flash of red smoke. She was flat on the floor before she could get a better look at it. The fall knocked the wind out of her. When she pulled herself back to her feet she saw Master Windu bent over Obi-Wan who was unconscious on the floor.

"What was that?" Meleana asked in a low voice.

Master Windu shook his head, "It passed before I could get a look at it. Did you see anything?"

Meleana looked down at Obi-Wan, he appeared to be breathing. Given how calm Master Windu was being she saw no reason to panic. "It looked like red smoke, but I only saw it for a second. It could have been anything. I heard a scraping sound, maybe it was an animal?"

Meleana mulled over how likely it was that Obi-Wan had been knocked out cold by an animal, which moved fast enough to avoid being seen by a Jedi Master. Then again, the animals on Korriban weren't like animals on other worlds.

Obi-Wan groaned as he started coming to. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around in confusion. He had an odd glazed look in his eyes as he looked over the other Jedi in the small space. Meleana thought it looked as though he were sizing them up for a fight.

"We should continue, help him to his feet," Master Windu said. It made sense, since he was taking the lead and holding the light that Meleana lug Obi-Wan around until he was feeling better.

The Jedi Master started walking slowly forward and Meleana helped pull Obi-Wan to his feet.

"You alright?" She asked putting her arm around his waist so she could steer him down the tunnel.

He nodded, but didn't say anything. He was still looking around as though he hadn't a clue what was going on. She decided against asking him if he'd seen what hit him, he seemed too out of it to be able to give them any useful information.

They walked in silence down the impossibly long corridor. Meleana felt a gentle tug on her long brown locks and gave her shoulder a side glance. Obi-Wan had had his arm wrapped around her shoulders for awhile, but he'd just begun toying with her hair.

"You're so soft," He said in an odd tone.

"Oh Force," Meleana sighed. "Master," She called to Mace, who was a few meters ahead of them. "I think we should stop and take a look at Jedi Kenobi."

"Has his condition worsened?" Mace asked turning to look at them.

"No, but,"

"We will keep going a little longer. I believe we are near this tunnels end."

Obi-Wan tickled her lips with her hair. "I'm fine."

The Jedi Master was right. A few minutes later they stepped into another chamber. This one wasn't much larger than Meleana's ship. On either side there was a steep drop. They could hear a slight trickle of water coming from the black depths. There were three more exits to this tunnel. Mace immediately began to study them.

"Look up," Obi-Wan whispered into Meleana's ear. She glanced at the ceiling. Something was barely visible there.

Meleana pulled out a glowstick and lit it, adding to the dim light enough to make out shapes on the ceiling.

"Master," She said and motioned upwards.

Mace stared up at the ceiling for a long while before responding. "It's a map. I recognize enough of the script to tell that, but its written in riddles.

Meleana hated riddles, but declaring that seemed counter productive, so she simply nodded.

"We'll need to copy it."

Meleana attempted to take a picture of it, but each one was more and more obscure. Strange shapes swirled in front of the map, making it impossible to read. She took picture after picture, looking at them only long enough to decide if they were clear.

"We'll have to draw out the symbols," Meleana said pulling out her datapad.

Mace looked at the ceiling covered in Sith script. He didn't look pleased about the delay.

"We could scan the surrounding tunnels Master, see if they contain any clues or obstacles we might clear while she's working." Obi-Wan detached from Meleana before he'd spoken, and now he was walking around her in circles confidently.

Master Windu considered this a moment. Finally he looked at Meleana, who had already began to copy, mostly to avoid watching Obi-Wan, who was making her a little nauseous with all of his pacing.

"I have a good feeling about the right corridor," Obi-Wan said before Mace had agreed to his plan. When the Jedi Master still didn't answer he added, "If you'd like I can stay and assist her in transcribing the Sith script."

Meleana thought it was a little rude that he kept referring to her in the third person. She was glad he was acting as though they didn't have a prior relationship, but she didn't think it would hurt things if he appeared to know her name.

"We will go on ahead, assuming Jedi Ariadne has no objections."

Finally someone used her name, "No Master," She said with a smile, "I'd like to say I've been worse places, but I'm not sure that would be entirely true. I will be fine here though."

Master Windu nodded and he and Obi-Wan soon disappeared into the tunnel on the right.

Meleana was three quarters of the way though the huge amount of text when she heard footsteps headed in her direction. She was glad at first, until she realized it was only one pair of feet. Normally she'd be able to tell who it was before seeing them, but her connection to the force here was week, and even what she could feel was muddled and confused by the darkside. Obi-Wan came through the tunnel.

"Jedi Ariadne, how are you progressing?"

Meleana arched her brow, something was definitely not right with him. "I'm almost done, another hour maybe. You two were gone a long time. Where's Master Windu?"

"We found something, he stayed behind to investigate, and sent me back to retrieve you," Obi-Wan was pacing around her in tight circles again.

Meleana moved to stand, but found herself held in place by Obi-Wan's hands on her shoulder.

"You haven't finished yet," He said in a harsh voice. When she began to write he went back to pacing. "How much of it do you understand?"

"None," Meleana said wondering why Obi-Wan would think she knew any Sith.

"You've been slacking in your studies."

"Well that's the understatement of the year," Meleana started to relax again as she worked. She dismissed Obi-Wan's odd behavior, assuming it was a combination of a head injury and the strange dark energies of Korriban.

His hands twined through her hair again. The second her body tensed he gripped it firmly enough to hold her in place. She sat frozen in place waiting to see what would happen next. Not sure how she should respond.

"Why do you flinch when touch you?" He asked calmly.

Meleana licked her lips, trying to think of what to say, "because you've never done it before."

He yanked her head back to look into her eyes. She kept her face as impassive as possible and waited for him to answer.

"Have you ever wanted me to?" He asked finally.

Meleana swallowed hard, but made sure not one muscle in her body twitched. She looked at him appraising and smiled a little, "You're sure Master Windu isn't coming back anytime soon?"

He nodded and she reached her hand up to caress the wrist that was tangled along with his hand in her hair. When he began to relax she gave him a come hither look and motioned to him with her free hand. He lowered his head towards her and she brought her free hand to cradle the back of his head. Before he got to close she slammed her head into his nose and bolted backwards. She grabbed her data pad as she shuffled along the floor.

"Who are you?" Meleana asked She held her lightsaber with one hand and clumsily stuffed the datapad in the waistband of her pants.

He winced and wiped the blood from bellow his nose. "I think the caves are getting to you Jedi Ariadne."

"Say my first name."

"We're not on a first name basis."

Meleana ignited her lightsaber, "Who are you?"

He smiled slowly at her, "Put away your toy. I'm not going to kill you. I'll leave that to my Mistress."

Meleana tensed when he took a step towards her and moved her lightsaber in front of her.

"You won't use it. Put it away before you hurt yourself."

Meleana thought that over. Could she kill Obi-Wan? Or any unarmed opponent for that matter? Was he waiting for her to let her guard down so he could strike her down? No, if he'd wanted her dead he would have killed her while she worked. He was telling the truth when he said he wouldn't kill her.

"Who is your Mistress?" Meleana asked not yet ready to put the blade away.

He shook his head, "It doesn't matter, you'll never know her, but you'll make an excellent vessel."

"I don't think so. I think you are going to go back to wherever you came from. I am definitely not going to be anyone's vessel."

"If you strike me down you'll kill your friend. Put your blade away."

Meleana knew that was a terrible idea. The only thing keeping him back was the threat of the lightsaber, but she knew she wouldn't use it. Even if that thing hadn't chosen to posses Obi-Wan, she couldn't use her weapon on someone unarmed. Meleana put her blade away. She had other weapons after all. She wasn't defenseless without it. As soon as she did he charged at her, which she'd expected. She reached out with the force to push him back, what she found was horrible. She screamed and crumpled to her knees. Horrible visions flashed through her mind. Voices in her head said terrible things, about her, the world. She felt suddenly overcome by despair and suffering. Somehow she managed to kick Obi-Wan's legs out from under him. She needed to get away. She needed to find Master Windu. He grabbed her left ankle and wrenched it. Meleana cried out in pain and kicked him with her right leg. He didn't let go, he twisted her ankle further just to the breaking point and stopped before it snapped.

He released her leg and force pushed her back. She went sliding to the ravine, and stopped just before she went over. If he could use the force and she couldn't this was a fight she was going to lose. Even if she had been willing to use her lightsaber. She realized what she had to do a second before it was to late and pushed back with her feet. Her body went tumbling into the ravine. Obi-Wan stopped her with the force and pulled her back towards him. He was standing at the edge, he would have been right over her if she hadn't moved. He grabbed her by her belt and pulled her back onto the cave floor. Her whole body jolted as he roughly pulled her away from the ravine and forced her back against the cave wall.

He wrenched her utility belt from her. She watched it slide to the other end of the cave. If she could use the force getting it back would be simple. She was standing still, pinned between him and the cave wall, trying to think of what to do. She could fight, and lose. She could try something more cunning, and lose. In her experience the one with the force always won. She needed to get away. She was sure she could sustain her connection to the force long enough to survive the drop into the ravine, but it would hurt in more ways than one.

She needed to distract him long enough to fall. That shouldn't be to hard. But everything she could think of involved the force.

His hand wrapped around her throat, just tightly enough to hold her in place. His nearness made her wonder if she could seduce her way out of this. It was a long shot, he'd have to be an idiot to fall for it, but he was a man who hadn't had sex in thousands of years. She just needed to make herself convincing enough.

She did her best to look like a lost little girl, tried to make tears come to her eyes, found that easier than she'd expected.

"Please, I don't want to die," She sounded more pathetic than she ever had before. "I'll do anything you want. I have many more uses than just a vessel for your Master."

He looked intrigued, which was a good sign she guessed.

Meleana kissed him, the way his lips responded almost caused her to recoil. If she'd kissed him when he'd woken up she'd have known it wasn't Obi-Wan. Perhaps it was the thousands of years without practice, but for whatever reason, this man was a terrible kisser. His hand moved from her throat to caress her breast. This was working better than she'd expected. Now she just needed him to move towards the ravine. She pushed him away gently.

"Stand back, I want to undress for you," He took a few paces back, "Further," She said coyly, "If I need to impress you enough to keep me alive I thinks its best you get to drink in all of me."

He moved back until he was a few paces from the ravine, that was close enough. Now Meleana realized she'd just committed to jumping into a ravine naked and unarmed. Not her best plan. She tossed her robe off, hoping she'd tossed it hard enough for it to go over the opposite end of the ravine. It didn't. She made a show of slowly stripping off all of her layers, each time hoping something, a sash, her pants, would tumble down into the depths. None of them did. She was to far to toss cloth without the force. When she was finally naked she stepped towards him and started to walk around him slowly. She stopped as close to the drop as she could.

"Do you like what you see?" He nodded and she smiled, "Then it's your turn.  
>Meleana made a show of getting down on her knees, closing the distance between her and the cliff face. "I'll just wait here for you," She said with a wink.<p>

When he pulled up his shirt she tumbled back. She only had a few seconds, but they were enough. Now it was just a matter of surviving the landing.


	23. Chapter 23

(Thank you to everyone for following and reviewing. Again I am sorry for the poor update schedule, I work full time and go to school so I don't always have free time. Thanks you again for all of your encouragements and critiques.)

Meleana's body crashed through a thin coating of ice before she was plunged into freezing water. She didn't notice the cold at first, or the pain of the impact, and the pain from using the force to break her fall overwhelmed the freezing temperature. She hung in the water a moment, to disoriented to know to swim. She came out of her pain filled haze and started swimming. She knew the Obi-Wan imposter would follow after her. Her only chance was to hide, and even that would be difficult. Cloaking her presence required using the force, which she already knew would be difficult. She broke through the ice, it was thin enough that it wasn't hard and took a big gulp of air. She barely heard the imposter land on the ice.

Clearly he was having no issues using the force. Meleana froze in place. If she dropped back into the water now he'd hear her come back up for air. She focused all her efforts on hiding her presence. He hadn't brought a light down with him, clearly confident he'd capture her easily.

"Come out little Jedi. You can't hide forever," he paced the ice looking for her, trying to find her.

He turned towards her and her breath caught in her throat.

"You'll freeze down here. Do you really want to die?"

He took a few paces closer to her. Meleana didn't think he had seen her yet, but if he continued on his current course he would walk right into her. She was already shivering all over. She needed to move. She risked being heard and dropped back under the water. She could hear his footfall over the thin ice amplified by the water rushing towards her. She swam as deep as she could, not wanting to be dragged out of the water. She felt her way along the silt covered bed. Making sure she stayed on course. She knew she could hold her breath for two minutes at least before she started to struggle for air. Her hand brushed along something foreign on the floor as she moved. She ran her hands over it, already fearing what it was. It was a body, but one wearing clothing. It seemed well preserved. Meleana felt around, it had a utility belt. She pulled at a familiar feeling cylinder and swam back to the surface. She used the hilt of the ancient lightsaber to crack a hole in the ice and took a deep breath of air. She listened for her pursuer and heard nothing.

She waited there as long as she dared, but still heard nothing. She took a deep breath and swam back down. It felt as though the body was wearing a light blast armor, which would be a better covering than nothing. Though she was to squeamish to remove the body suite from the frozen corpse. At least the armor would give her a little protection, and let her keep some of her modesty. Though without something under it she imagined it would chafe terribly. She undressed the corpse quickly and snapped the armor on under water. The dead force user was thinner than her, and her feet had been a little bigger, but her current outfit was better than nothing. She took the utility belt and swam back up gasping for air. She went back down and started to feel around for the cave wall. It seemed like she'd give in to the cold before she found the shore, but finally she did. She dragged herself up. The cold at least had kept her injuries from bothering her. She sat on the cave floor breathing heavily. She was alone, completely blind, in a hostile place, and someone was trying to kill her. Tears came to her eyes when another thought crossed her mind. What about Obi-Wan? Was he already dead? And Master Windu, what had happened to him? She shook herself and started to pick at the utility belt. Meleana stared at the lightsaber. She wondered just how long their power cores held out. She said a little prayer before pressing the button on the hilt. Nothing happened.

The rest of the utility belt was equally useless, save for a knife. No wonder the imposter hadn't bothered getting wet, she was as good as dead at this rate. He'd have no problems following her. For all she knew he was sitting next to her laughing quietly to himself at her weakness. Meleana heard a sound, first she thought it was a confirmation of her suspicions, then she realized it was something else. Something was sniffing, a low growl came from behind her, and then it pounced.

Whatever it was, it was covered in fur, and dangerous. Sharp teeth bit at her ill-fitting armor. She reached for the knife of the floor and swiped blindly at the thing. Claws dragged across her hips, which the armor was not covering all the way. She grit her teeth, to terrified to scream. She stabbed, her arm got caught in the creatures mouth. She let him have it, and dropped the knife into her left hand. While it bit through the armor into her skin with crushing force, she slammed the knife through its skull. She pulled it out, removed the creature from her, and started moving. She slipped on the ice floor, tripped over rocks, and crashed into walls, but she had to get somewhere. She had to feel like she'd at least tried to save herself.

Mace Windu was pissed off. He shouldn't have allowed himself to be lead into a trap. He should have been able to sense something wasn't right with Obi-Wan. He should have been better prepared, and he should have told his Jedi companions more about what they were facing. The man he'd thought was Obi-Wan had lead him into a harmless looking room, why had he gone first? Why hadn't he sensed anything? Before he could see trouble coming he'd found himself locked in a force cage. The entire room had been built with the sole purpose to hold a Jedi. And he'd been held. For over an hour he'd been trapped, and still was.

He was most concerned for Meleana. He never should have brought such a young Jedi Knight along with him. His own ability to feel the force was so feint, he imagined the young Jedi was completely cut off, completely defenseless. Whoever was controlling Obi-Wan had clearly meant to get her away from him, but for what purpose?

He'd found a way out, or rather had been making one. While the wall were covered by an energy shield the floor was stone. Hi lightsaber and utility belt were still with him, so he'd been slowly digging his way out. Already he'd spent an hour on the task, and it looked as though he'd be at it for another hour still. He wondered if Meleana would still be alive when he finally made it out, and if there was any hope left for Obi-Wan. The two Jedi Knights were two of his favorite, it's why he'd brought them along, among other reasons. He didn't like knowing he may have lead both of them to their deaths without even seeing it. If even he was so blind it seemed the young Jedi had no hope.

Meleana stopped when she could no longer force her legs forward. She was freezing, but the cold was no longer helping to hold off the pain of her battered body. She'd made it far enough into the tunnels that she could no longer hear the sounds of water. This area was dimly lit by crystals high up in the walls. They cast an eerie blue light down the tunnels. It reminded Meleana of Obi-Wan's lightsaber, which had only served in upsetting her more.

She must have walked, or stumbled, for hours. She was so cold, so tired. She couldn't go any further. What was the point? They were all doomed. The others were probably dead already. Why should she continue on and prolong the inevitable. Tears rolled down Meleana's cheeks. She'd never felt so much despair in her life. She didn't know why she'd even bothered running to begin with. She could have died a quick death, but she'd chosen to freeze or starve instead.

Meleana shut her eyes and tried to think of something else, anything else. She didn't want to die… but she wasn't going to die here. Was she? She already knew where she was going to die, she didn't know when or why, but she knew for sure it wasn't on Korriban. She heard something from further down the hall, it sounded like slow dragging foot steps.

"Hello?" She called. She felt she was either being incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. There was no response.

She got to her feet and moved toward the sound, she could barely make out the shape of a human in the distance. It wasn't Master Windu, and it wasn't Obi-Wan. Meleana's heart sunk. The thing walking towards her was dripping wet, half frozen, and wearing nothing but a tight body suit. It was the corpse she'd taken the armor from. It looked to be female, but she couldn't be sure. Its skin had a wax like appearance, and its eyes glowed faintly the same dull blue glow of the tunnel.

When it fixed its dead eyes on her it began moving with frightening speed. Meleana gripped the bloody knife in her hands. She tried to dodge the dead thing, but it was to fast. Though it had almost no dexterity it was freakishly strong. It's frozen hands crushed her throat. She stabbed into it's gut, but it had no effect. She tried to pry the hands off of her, but they quite literally had a death grip. She stuck the knife into the creatures neck and it recoiled, but was on her again in seconds. She ducked this time and the corpse landed on top of her. It's nails raked her face and Meleana screamed. She tumbled to the floor and rolled to pin the creature below her. She jabbed the knife between its eyes. The dead thing opened its mouth in a silent scream, reveling black skin behind its blue lips, but it did not die. With considerable effort Meleana pulled the knife back, dodging the claw like nails of her opponent as she did.

She turned the knife, place one hand on the hilt and the other on the top of the blade. The creature continued to claw at any bare skin it could get its hands on. Meleana ignored the pain and forced the blade down. Once wasn't enough to sever its head. She hacked at it's neck, black blood splattered everywhere. When she'd gotten half way through she gave up, and grabbed the horrible things head tightly. It bit into her, with a scream of rage she pried the head off and tossed it as far down the corridor as possible.

Meleana stood up, the body still twitched slightly, but it appeared immobile. She staggered away a few paces then was over come by her need to wretch. What else could she possibly face in these terrible caves? She needed to find Master Windu. She needed to keep walking. She wouldn't make the mistake of stopping again.

Master Windu walked into the chamber he'd last seen Meleana in. He first noticed the precipice on either side had been closed off. It was as though they had never been there at all. He wasn't surprised to find her utility belt, lightsaber, and datapad on the floor, but what were all of her clothes doing there? This was troubling. He didn't see any blood, which made him think Meleana must have been alright when she parted with her clothing. They seemed in good enough shape. He picked up her utility belt, data pad, and lightsaber. He was glad to see she'd been able to copy all of the text from the ceiling. It would aid him in exploring the tunnels, and hopefully lead him to her sooner. He still had to complete the objective, to destroy this place, but he needed to at least try to save his companions first.

As Meleana continued down the tunnel she realized things had been too simple. She hadn't had any choices. There had always been a way open. She'd been so tired, and so unsure of her ability to use the force she had just followed the simplest path. She was now sure she was walking into a trap. Were the other ways any less of a trap though? Was being lured by one thing worse than being eaten by an animal? Freezing to death? Being killed by the undead? No, she thought not. So she continued, glad at least she knew she was walking into a trap. She saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Finally. She was ready for whatever it was that waited for her, good or bad, she needed this to be over.

She gripped the dead lightsaber in her hands. It might work as a bluff. If not she could always throw it. She stepped into a room with man made lighting, machines, and of course not-Obi-Wan.

Meleana looked at him and he smiled at her. Running hadn't done her any good. Here she was, right back where she'd been, now with disgusting black armor, no lightsaber, lots of wounds, and a slight case of hypothermia.

"Hello little Jedi," He said in a smooth voice. "You shouldn't have run from me. Look at all the trouble its brought you. It would be a shame if you damaged my Mistresses beautiful body."

Meleana held the lightsaber up threateningly. "It's my body, and I'll damage it in whatever way I see fit."

His eyes narrowed at her, "Ready to kill me now little one?" He held his arms up as if to say he was waiting, "go ahead, but I should tell you, you're little friend isn't dead. When I leave, which unfortunately I will, he'll be good as new. Unless of course you do something like kill him." The imposter Obi-Wan began turning on Machines, his back to her. "Now if you'd please step into this machine we can avoid a lot on unpleasantness."

"Why me?" Meleana asked, not sure if she wanted to know, or if she only wanted to stall.

"The Mistress knew you'd come. We've waited a very very long time for you, and here you are. You'd be amazed how long it takes to get a Jedi female into a cave on Korriban. Well you would, but obviously we wouldn't, since the Mistress predicted your coming."

"I'm not going to get in that machine. I'd rather die than play host to a Sith."

The man looked disappointed and pulled Obi-Wan's lightsaber off his belt. To Meleana's surprise he pressed it to his own throat. "If you do not get in I will kill him, posses the Jedi Master, and then kill him when we're through."

Meleana wanted to tell him to go ahead, that she was sure they'd both sooner die then risk setting a Sith loose on the galaxy but she couldn't bring herself to form the words.

"You're very attached to this one aren't you," the Sith winked, "very naughty little Jedi."

Meleana blinked tears out of her eyes, she wanted to tell this Sith to go to hell, but instead she found herself pleading with him not to kill Obi-Wan.

She rationalized what she was about to do. The machine probably didn't work. Master Windu would stop her. Obi-Wan would save her. It couldn't work, she wasn't supposed to die here. She died outside, it smelled of flowers and there was sunlight, she didn't die in this room.

"Are you getting in or not?" The Sith demanded impatiently.

Meleana nodded and slowly walked towards the machine. She let the broken lightsaber slip from her hands before she stepped inside. Instantly a strong metal bar flew out and wrapped around her waist. Something else came down to rest on her head.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt a lot," He kissed her lips, "please don't hold back your screams."

Meleana didn't look at him, she couldn't bare to. She couldn't believe she'd trusted the word of a Sith, but she needed to believe Obi-Wan was going to be ok. She knew she couldn't die here. She was sure of it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then he turned the machine on.

Mace began running when Meleana's screams of pain filled the tunnels, she was close. He could hear the sound of Obi-Wan's laughter and taunts as he got closer.

Mace stopped running just as he got to the door and ignited his lightsaber. The Sith imposter did the same and looked at the Jedi with great displeasure.

"How did you get out? I swear Jedi weren't as tricky in my day."

"Release her," Master Windu said in a no nonsense tone, he had to yell over Meleana's screaming

"In a few minutes," He said with an evil grin.

Master Windu took a step towards them and was thrown back with the force.

"You're no match for me here old man. Wait, in a minute she'll be gone and you and your friend will be safe. Press me and you'll find this poor girl's sacrifice was for nothing."

Master Windu got to his feet and slammed the Sith into the wall with the force, though he did so at great peril to himself. He fought back the tug of the dark side and slammed the body to the other side of the room. Not- Obi-Wan had lost consciousness after the second impact, but Mace hadn't stopped pounding the limp form into the walls. Meleana's whimpering finally tugged his mind away from the shroud of the darkside.

"No," She repeated over and over through her cries of pain.

The Jedi Master let Obi-Wan's body fall to the floor, completely limp. He took his lightsaber and ran through the machines until Meleana's cries had stopped. When the room was silent he looked at what had been done. The weapon was destroyed, and so may have been two promising Jedi Knights. Meleana hung in the Machine, motionless, Obi-Wan was on the floor bleeding. He wondered if he might have been better off going on this mission alone.

Obi-Wan stirred first with a groan. Master Windu held his purple blade towards him. "Your Masters name," He snapped before Obi-Wan could even get his eyes all the way open.

"Qui-Gon," He said in confusion. "What… Where?" Obi-Wan looked around the room. He made it to his feet with great effort and staggered towards Meleana.

"I should have prevented this," Master Windu said. He said nothing about the urgency with which Obi-Wan rushed to Meleana. He seemed to think only of her, forgetting his own pain. Normally Master Windu would have found this suspicious, but in this case he was inclined to forget it. He'd failed them. He didn't think Meleana was dead, but she certainly looked close enough.

He watched Obi-Wan try clumsily to release Meleana's limp form from the machine.

"You should sit down, you're not well," Master Windu said in an emotionless tone.

Obi-Wan stumbled back, practically falling against the machine behind him to support his weight. "Is she… what happened?"

Mace stepped forward and very carefully cut the binding around Meleana's waist with his blade. Meleana's body tumbled forward into his harms. He checked her pulse, it was weak, but there.

"She'll live," Master Windu scanned Meleana's bloody bruised body, "As to what happened, you'll have to ask her.

Obi-Wan wiped the blood seeping from his forehead away from his eyes, "How did I get here?"

"You were possessed. I've spent the past several hours trapped in a force cage and trying to find this place. I'm afraid I'm to blame for your injuries."

Obi-Wan stared at Meleana lying in Mace's arms, "I did this?"

Mace shook his head, "You're no more to blame than I am. When you are well enough to walk we should get moving."

Mace cast a worried look down at Meleana, he could barely feel her through the force. The sooner she was away from this place the better.


	24. Chapter 24

Meleana's eyes fluttered open slowly. She scanned the flickering dimly lit room around her, it was hers. She looked around, yes it was her room, there was her plant, her dresser, she was in her room. She was in clean clothes. How had she gotten there? Where had she been?

She looked to her right, Obi-Wan was kneeling at the edge of the bed staring at her intently. His face was covered in cuts and bruises, and he looked as though he hadn't slept in days. She tensed, memories flooded back to her.

"Its alright," He said stroking her hand gently, "your name is Meleana Ariadne, your ship is called The Jaded Star, your Masters name was Ari, your best friends name is Ketana. I'm not going to hurt you."

A weak smile spread across Meleana's face, "you look terrible," her voice didn't sound like her own. It was gravely and barely above a whisper.

"Well, I've learned my lesson as far as being possessed around Master Windu goes," He said with a light smile.

Tears came to Meleana's eyes. She couldn't ever remember crying as much as she had on this mission. "I thought you were dead," she squeaked out.

Obi-Wan slid into the bed next to her and gathered her up in his arms. He pulled her tightly up against his chest and kissed her cheek.

"This is the first time you've spoken in three days," He said after a long pause.

"What do you mean spoken?"

Obi-Wan brushed her hair away from her face. She'd never seen him look so gentle, it was as though he was worried the wrong expression would crush her.

"You would open your eyes, but you never seemed to be seeing anything. Nothing here anyway. It was like you weren't here anymore."

Meleana knew what he meant. She'd seen people who'd sustained major brain damage and survived, the way their bodies kept going without them. It must have been almost as bad for him to see her that way as it had been for her to see him possessed by something evil.

"How long until we're back on Coruscant?" She asked wanting to change the subject.

Meleana didn't think it was possible for Obi-Wan to look even more somber, but some how he managed.

"We aren't going back to Coruscant. I'm sorry, I tried to," he sighed, "Master Windu and I aren't really speaking right now if that sums it up."

Meleana's mouth dropped and she smiled a little. Whatever the bad news was, she couldn't help but be a little amused that goody-two-shoes Obi-Wan had gotten into an argument with one of the most respected Jedi Master's of all time.

"Where are we going?" She hated how weak her voice sounded.

"The Jedi Master who discovered the weapon hasn't been heard from since she contacted the temple to warn them about it. The planet is on the outerrim. We're the closest Jedi, and our mission is tied to hers. Master Windu doesn't think you will be in any danger. He believes that while the planet we are headed to is where the Sith lived, all of the lingering dark energy was in the caves on Korriban."

"What do you think?" Meleana was afraid to think of what she thought.

"I think I will do whatever I need to do to protect you."

"You shouldn't," Obi-Wan cut her off before she could finish.

"I love you. I'm not going to let some ancient Sith kill you. You are not going to die a meaningless death."

Meleana looked into his beautiful grey eyes, "You seem so sure I'm going to die."

"No, you're not going to die. I won't let you. I trust Master Windu when he says there is no danger. If it were anyone else I wouldn't worry," he brushed her cheek lightly with his thumb, "but you my dear have a knack for getting into trouble."

Meleana could have argued with him, but she didn't want to. She wanted him to protect her. She didn't feel like herself at all. She'd never felt so small and powerless before. Something had definitely happened to change her on Korriban. She felt like a watered down version of herself.

"Can you help me up?" She asked knowing she was to weak to walk on her own.

Obi-Wan helped her out of her room and set her down in the main room. She wanted to go to the kitchen herself, but he insisted she wait. Master Windu came in the minute Obi-Wan had disappeared.

"I'm glad to see you are well," he said sitting down across from her. "you gave us a scare."

Meleana nodded and smiled, "thanks for saving the day."

Mace frowned at her a moment. "Nothing to add? No sarcastic quip about my spending half the mission in a cage?" He nodded affectionately towards her, "You must not be feeling like yourself yet."

"Poor choice of words, Master," her voice was still only a whisper.

"That's better."

Meleana stared at the table in silence. Not sure what to say. She wanted to demand to be taken back to Coruscant, but that seemed remarkably immature. Meleana found she didn't want to talk to Master Windu at all. She was a little upset at being dragged way in over her head. He'd saved her, but he'd also nearly gotten her killed. He'd been studying the Sith holocron, he knew all about the weapon, which had been used on her. The Sith she was supposedly the vessel for. He hadn't volunteered any information about any of it. Perhaps if she'd known a little more about what she was getting herself into she wouldn't have been swimming naked in ice water, attacked by wild animals, and nearly killed by the undead, twice.

"What was it?" She asked knowing Master Windu would know what she was referring to.

"What matters is it did not work. I stopped it before it could harm you. You will recover with time."

His voice was so calm, so sure. It made Meleana want to smash his face into the table.

Meleana's eyes locked with his. She was sick of this cryptic Jedi bantha-shit. "I felt my soul being wrenched from my body. I felt every horrible thing in the world creep inside me, and now I feel like a shell of a human being. Tell me _Master_, how do I recover from that?" She said his title with more distaste than she'd ever managed before.

She wanted to get up and walk away, but was sure she'd fall as soon as she got up. So she glared at Master Windu, who seemed not to know what to say to her.

"We can discuss this later, when you've had more time to rest."

Obi-Wan walked in just in time to see Master Windu leave. He looked at Meleana and the expression on his face turned to one of concern.

"Everything alright?" He asked setting down two glasses in front of her.

Meleana nodded and took a sip of water. The other glass had something blended and blue.

"I didn't think you'd want solid food," He said.

"I didn't know I had a blender."

Meleana took a sip of the smoothie, to appease him more than anything. It was good, but she wasn't really in the mood for liquid or solid food.

"Drink it please," He said, "You haven't eaten in days."

Meleana finished the water and the smoothie, though it made her a little ill to do so. When she'd finished Obi-Wan scooped her back into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his. His skin felt hot compared to hers. She turned her head and softly captured his lips with hers.

His lips felt electric against hers. The closer she got to him the more alive she felt, as though she were feeding off his energy. She'd felt like the walking dead before she kissed him, now she felt alive again. She moved her arms from his shoulders and tugged his shirt up and over his head. Her hands ran down his bare chest a their lips met again. Her hands followed the light dusting of hair from his chest to his stomach and finally bellow his belt, which she tossed onto the floor.

Her mouth tore at his, each touch made her feel more alive. His skin against hers warmed her. Her extreme pallor was replaced by a healthy pink flush.

"More," Meleana moaned into the kiss. Obi-Wan was being very restrained with his own movements and actions. "Please," she cooed when he made no effort to undress her.

Meleana kept her legs coiled around him and kissed his lips softly.

"I love you," she whispered in between kissing him.

He gave her one last firm kiss and pried her legs off of him. He moved to her side and propped himself up on his elbow.

"Done so soon?" Meleana pouted.

"You must be tired," he said tracing her lip with his thumb.

Meleana kissed it and ran her tongue across it, "No."

He smiled, "You can't even walk on your own love. You need to get some rest."

Meleana rolled her eyes at him, she didn't want rest, she wanted more sex. "Just for a couple of hours?" She pouted at him.

"I'll go get you some water. We'll see how you feel when I get back."

Meleana was set on getting up on her own. He'd come back and she'd prove she was feeling better. He would have no valid argument for not having sex with her. She made it as far as upright before she collapsed on the bed unconscious.

Meleana became aware of two other presences. She felt something weak, barely there, not at all a threat, just sad and lost. The other was malicious, overpowering, and stronger than anything she'd ever felt before. She could see only black, but she could feel things around her. Not familiar things. She was somewhere unknown to her.

"You're hardly what I expected," A female voice cooed, "such a little thing. Are you sure you're even a Jedi?"

Meleana realized the woman was speaking to her. She didn't respond. She wasn't in the habit of encouraging rudeness in her own dreams.

"This isn't a dream Meleana. There are things about you I need to know. You're going to tell them to me.

"No I'm not," Meleana said with great resolve.

The female voice laughed, "you already are, silly girl. I don't need you to speak to get information from you."

The female voice made a sound that conveyed displeasure, "Really, I had expected my vessel to be someone powerful, revered, beloved by her peers. You, you're hardly much of anything are you? Oh well, I suppose you'll go down easier then? Won't you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Meleana did her best to sound sure of herself, but knowing the Sith was in her head, she couldn't fool her.

"Oh yes of course, resist the darkside, all that nice Jedi stuff. Whatever makes you feel better. You're damned either way."

"I'm going to wake up," Meleana said trying to make it so simply by saying it. This was a dream, she'd wake up and everything would be as it should be.

Meleana's eyes opened, she was being picked up off the ground. She looked up at Obi-Wan, with big sad eyes. He sat down on the edge of the bed with her in his arms.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you," Obi-Wan said a he stroked her hair.

"Oh, you pushed me? I was wondering why I fell over," she said sarcastically.

He didn't reply, but continued to stroke her hair. She felt better in his arms. As though there really was something he could do to protect her. She lay her head against his chest and listened to his heart beating.

"You should try to get some rest, we'll be on the planet soon." He lay her down on the bed and curled up on his side next to her.

Meleana had no intentions of falling asleep, but sleep took her anyway. This time she didn't dream.


	25. Chapter 25

By the time they landed the ship Meleana was able to walk. As they walked from the empty field towards the huge fortress in front of them she found herself becoming weaker, but tried not to show it. She didn't want Obi-Wan or Master Windu to worry about her any more than they already were.

"We'll be quick. All we need to do is find Master Tori," Master Windu said.

Meleana wondered if this was an effort to get herself and Obi-Wan to start talking to him again, since he didn't sound as though he was convinced by his own words.

The structure in front of them sent chills down her spine. It was at least seven stories high and made of a polished black stone. It radiated evil the same way Korriban had, though the feeling of it was different. Outside it was peaceful, birds were singing, flowers blew in a gentle wind, and in the distance the bubbling of a stream could be heard. There was something naggingly familiar about the place, but for the moment Meleana was focused on the buildings facade. Meleana scanned the large wood framed windows of the place. High up, towards the center of the building she saw a woman standing at the window, looking down at them.

"That's her, isn't it?" She looked at Master Windu then back up at the window, the woman was gone. She scolded herself for pointing so obviously.

The doors to the house opened and three people walked out. Two of them were familiar to Meleana. Darlean, her civilian friend was smiling. Her almond shaped brown eyes met hers. The wind caught at her short black hair as she ran to great Meleana. Meleana hugged the tall skinny girl, more to get it out of the way than anything else.

Darlean introduced herself and her husband, the owner of the alarming "house". He was a little taller than she, with tan skin and dark hair. The two of them made an attractive couple. All three of the Jedi glared at the last person to exit the house.

"What is he doing here?" Obi-Wan whispered to Meleana.

She shrugged and looked Rendain up and down. He gave her a big smile and bowed to the Jedi, Master Windu first.

"Darlean and I know each other. Meleana introduced us when I needed some help producing some holos. She called me when she couldn't get a hold of any Jedi to help deal with her little problem," Rendain didn't move any closer to the three Jedi.

"The Jedi temple has not received any communications from you since your initial request," Master Windu said to Darlean. He seemed to be purposefully avoiding looking at Rendain.

Meleana knew the existence of her Masters son had never been something the Council liked to acknowledge. The fact that Ari had disregarded their orders and raised him made him even more of a thorn in the side of the Jedi. Ari had never told them how he had avoided expulsion from the order, but she imagined it had something to do with Rendain's mother being a Dathomir witch.

"You haven't received any of our transmissions?" Darlean looked alarmed, all of the initial joy of seeing them retreated from her features.

"You've missed quite a bit then," Rendain sounded less than amused, "You'll probably want to be seated to hear the news," Rendain said crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's right," Darlean said her cute features and bright clothes were a stark contrast to the horrible building she motioned towards, "please come sit down, we'll have drinks."

Inside the mansion was even more unnerving than the exterior had been. Seated in the brightly lit room did nothing to sooth Meleana's uneasy feelings. She was happy to have a very large glass of sweet liquor with ice placed in front of her. A little too glad. She downed it in one gulp. A droid refilled it immediately, but not before everyone else noticed the glass was empty.

"Where should I begin?" Darlean asked nervously.

"Jedi Kenobi has no prior knowledge of the events that have taken place here," Master Windu said calmly, "you should begin from the beginning."

Very smart Master Windu, no wonder you're so highly respected, Meleana thought to herself.

Darlean took a sip of her drink. They were seated in a sun room towards the back of the house. Despite it being bright, and surrounded by views of the beautiful gardens outside the interior was drab. The furniture was all black metal and wood. The walls were a dull brown color. The space felt drab and oppressive even to those who could not use the force.

"This house had been in Sion's family for hundreds of years, before that it was a museum, before that it was the home, research, and training facility of a Sith named Darth Tormentia."

"Silly name," Meleana interrupted.

Darlean glared at her, "Her real name was Alandra Cortis, if that suites you better?"

"Much," Meleana smiled and took another sip of her drink.

"Darth… I mean Alandra's ultimate goal was to achieve immortality. She did research, experiments, on the people of this world. She wanted to trap souls. If she could find a way of forcibly containing a soul, she could transfer herself into anyone, prevent herself from ever dying. She trapped many souls, but was never able to seal her own soul in her body. She was killed, by Jedi as far as I can tell, here in this house.

Over the last several thousand years there have been many documented cases of women believed to be possessed. Sightings of a thin blond woman with black eyes have been reported over and over again. Sion wanted to turn this place into a hotel. I couldn't, in good conscious, do so with out first making sure these stories aren't true. Master Tori came a few weeks ago, at first things were fine. She said she could sense the darkside lingering here, but saw nothing that would endanger anyone. About two weeks ago something changed in her. She became reclusive. She'd lock herself in the archives for days. That's when we first tried to contact the temple."

"The only correspondence we received was from Master Tori, a few weeks ago she sent us word that she had discovered the location of a Sith weapon," Master Windu interrupted politely.

Darlean shook her h?ead, "I'm sorry Master Jedi, but if that is the only thing you've heard from us that gives me further reason to believe the Sith has taken over Master Tori. She hasn't been herself for weeks. I wouldn't trust anything you received from her."

Master Windu and Obi-Wan both cast an uneasy glance at Meleana. She lifted her glass to them and emptied it into her mouth. The droid came around with another refill.

"I called Ren when I didn't think anyone else was coming," tears came to Darlean's eyes and her voice cracked, "she tried to kill him. We all thought to leave after that, but our ships have been disabled. We didn't think the Jedi would come."

"When was the last time anyone saw Master Tori?" Mace asked.

"A week ago. We hear her…" Darlean stopped, like she couldn't bare to say the rest.

"In the walls," Rendain finished for her, "She comes and checks on us at night. There are hidden passages all through this place. Its how she moves around without being seen. Not that I've gone looking for her since she nearly chopped my head off."

Master Windu nodded thoughtfully, "We will have to locate Master Tori, and find a way to destroy the Sith spirit."

Meleana had stopped paying attention when she realized why this place felt so familiar. She'd been having visions of it for months. They were all sipping drinks within eye shot of the place she'd likely perish. This realization had left her in a pretty foul mood. There were a few things about the house she didn't want to mention to the others, one was the voices she kept hearing. Knowing they were the only ones in the house it clearly wasn't a good sign. Telling everyone the voices wanted to kill the Jedi was likely to raise a few red flags. Confronted with all of that, Master Windu's casual tone when speaking of the Sith had done nothing but piss her off. If Sith were so easy to destroy… well it would explain why there were so few of them.

"How exactly do we destroy a Sith spirit?" Meleana's tone was less than respectful. She'd hoped someone else would chime in before she did. "Should we all hold religious icons and chant like they do in the movies? Oh maybe if we use the power of love she'll dissolve, because the power of evil can no longer survive," she didn't really give a crap what sort of punishment Master Windu chose for her. She wouldn't make it out of here alive anyway. "Maybe we can make a magical potion!"

Master Windu just sat their calmly. Obi-Wan placed a hand over Meleana's and took her drink away.

"I think you've had enough," he said softly.

"You're damn right I've had enough!" Meleana slammed her hands down on the table, and that's where her rant ended.

Master Windu waited a moment to continue, "Unless Jedi Ariadne has any other helpful suggestions we should begin our search. Jedi Kenobi, you seem to be better at handling Jedi Ariadne in her current state than I. Rendain and I will search the lower floors first, you will start with the attic and move down."

Obi-Wan nodded and gripped Meleana's wrist to help her out of her seat.

"This place is going to kill me," Meleana said after she tripped on a stair.

Obi-Wan was a meter ahead and he didn't look back at her when he spoke. "You should know better than to drink so much when you haven't eaten anything for days. Especially in front of Master Windu. Or anyone for that matter! What were you thinking!"

"That this place is going to kill me!" She screeched like a crazy person.

Obi-Wan turned to face her and stopped walking. He caught her in his arms when she tried to press on past him. "Darling, this place is not going to kill you. I know you've been through a lot, and you're not yourself right now. Thankfully so does Master Windu. You and I are going to finish up here, go back to Coruscant, and head immediately to my room where you are going to show me what to do with all those toys you have stashed in my quarters."

Meleana nodded, "I hope so," she said feeling her heart wrench.

They were nearly to the attic, the climb was enough to wind even two Jedi. When they finally reached the door it was locked. Obi-Wan quickly undid it with the force and they stepped into the warm dark room. It smelled of dust and mildew and was packed with thousands of years worth of junk.

"I don't see anyone up here," Obi-Wan said scanning the room.

Meleana's heart leapt, he didn't see anyone, but she did. Off in one of the far corners a figure was crouching. The light from the stairwell caught its eyes. It was impossible to tell from there if it was male of female. She wasn't sure what to say. If Obi-Wan thought she was insane he wouldn't trust her to search the castle. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone without a Jedi protector. She still felt drained.

Obi-Wan began moving around the room, she had enough control over herself to think she should move and act natural. She started to riffle through items stacked on a chest near the door. She kept one eye on the thing in the corner. Obi-Wan was moving closer to it. She didn't like that.

"You don't sense anything in this room?" Meleana asked, unable to control herself. The thing seemed to have figured out she could see it. It's eyes were locked on her now.

He stopped looking through the dust covered items in the room and fixed his eyes with hers.

"I don't sense anything here that I didn't feel elsewhere."

Meleana agreed, she didn't sense anything, but she didn't need the force to tell her something in the corner was standing up. He could tell now that it was a woman, dressed in black robes with long black hair. The form moved towards Obi-Wan, but it kept its eyes on her. Meleana's body tensed when the apparition was within a meter of Obi-Wan. She reacted on impulse and sent a wave of the force at the spirit. Obi-Wan went flying back into a bookshelf.

Meleana shrieked, realizing she'd done exactly the wrong thing. She didn't look to see what the spirit was doing. She dragged Obi-Wan back to her with the force and pulled him out of the room. She slammed the door shut with the force and was halfway down the stairs before he dragged her to a halt.

Meleana's breath and heart beat were frantic. She cast a nervous glance at the attic door, then looked pleadingly at Obi-Wan. The look on his face told her she wasn't going to be able to get out of this without telling him what was going on. What could she say? If she told the truth he'd think she was crazy, if she lied, he'd think she was crazy.

"There was something in there," her eyes pleaded with him to believe her.

He just looked at her with an unreadable expression. He stroked her hair reassuringly and took both of her hands in his.

"Let's keep going," He said in a gentle voice.

They moved on to the next floor, half of which was the Sith's archive, the Jedi knew there had to be more to that floor, but they were unable to find any passage to it.

When they stepped into the archive Meleana was at first impressed by the size. She'd seen cities with smaller repositories of knowledge. That this was a private collection was daunting. This was a Sith who appreciated the power of knowledge. Meleana started to read a few of the titles on the shelf and her opinion quickly changed. Her stomach turned at some of the titles.

"This might be a god place to start working on destroying a Sith spirit," She said. Despite finding the room distasteful, it was so far better than the attic.

"We're to find Master Tori first. I'm sure Master Windu will want to have a look at the archive himself," Obi-Wan's voice echoed in the large room, though Meleana could no longer see him through the endless shelves.

"So what if we find Master Tori and she's possessed? What then? One of us holds her down while the others research."

"Please Meleana, for my sake try to keep your attitude in check."

Meleana rolled her eyes, which he couldn't see. She wanted to comment that Master Tori was clearly not in this room, but she assumed Obi-Wan would take that the wrong way. A few minutes later he popped up in front of her from behind one of the shelves and declared it time to move on.

They met up with Rendain and Master Windu several hours later. None of them had found any sign of Master Tori, though they had found many of the entrances to the secret passage ways. The sun had already set, and they were reluctant to continue searching too long after dark.

The group of force users found their way back to the "home" owners, and they began making sleeping arrangements. Not many of the rooms were clean enough to stay in. They all agreed that no one should sleep alone. They would remain in their current pairings, and the force users would begin their search again in the morning when they woke.

"Do you want me to check under the bead for monsters?" Obi-Wan asked when they'd finished scanning the room, blocked the entrance to the secret passage, and locked the door.

"I already did," Meleana said talking her clothes off and folding them neatly.

The rooms inside the fortress were beautiful. They had the biggest beds Obi-Wan had ever seen, and the furniture was all a dark burl wood with gold embellishments. Art hung all over the fabric covered walls, and carpets, which he'd guessed were hand made, covered almost all of the hardwood floors.

He followed Meleana's lead and left his clothes in a neat pile next to hers. They both slid under the silky covers into soft sheets.

"Wow," Meleana said when her back hit the mattress, "I know this place is evil, but this must be the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. "How are you feeling?"

"Better? I mean, I can walk. I still don't really feel like myself."

He turned on his side to face her and ran his hands through her soft brown locks. "What is it you're keeping from me?"

She wouldn't meet his eyes, instead she stared up at the ceiling while he continued to caress her, "There's just something about this place... I think I've had visions about it."

He arched his brow thoughtfully, "You don't usually have visions. Do you?"

Meleana shook her head, "Not often, no."  
>"Seeing the future is rarely as straight forward as visions make it seem."<p>

"I know," Meleana sighed and shook her head slightly.

He wished he could tell what was going through her mind. She had a bad habit of keeping things from him, "What were the visions about?"

Meleana curled up with her head in his chest. That seemed to be her way of saying she didn't want to talk about it. He hugged her tightly to him and kissed the top of her head.

"What was it like, being possessed?" Her voice was muffled but audible.

"I don't remember any of it. One minute I was walking through a tunnel with you and Master Windu, and the next I was waking up to find Master Windu pulling you out of that machine."

"Did it hurt?"

Obi-Wan wondered why she was asking. If she was worried for Master Tori, or herself. "I had a pretty bad headache when I came to. The worst pain was knowing I'd hurt you."  
>Meleana looked up at him, "You didn't hurt me," she reached a hand up to stroke his stubble covered cheeks before kissing him, "I love you."<p>

He hugged her a little tighter. She may not blame him for what had happened to her on Korriban, but that did nothing to quell his feelings of guilt, "I love you too, darling."

Meleana woke in the middle of the night to a scraping sound against the wall. She realized after a moment that it was coming from the secret passage. Someone was trying to get in. They'd blocked the door with a heavy piece of furniture, but any force user would easily be able to get through that.

She shook Obi-Wan without a second thought. She focused all of her energy on keeping the door closed. Obi-Wan sat up with a start, and his lightsaber was in his hand before he could ask what she was doing. Time passed, though Meleana wasn't sure how much. Finally Obi-Wan broke the silence when nothing else happened.

"Go back to sleep love. I'll stay up and keep watch."

If anyone else had said that Meleana would have said she may as well stay up, that she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She felt completely safe with Obi-Wan, trusted him completely. He wouldn't fall asleep, wouldn't sell her out to save himself. He loved her, she trusted him. The only other person she'd ever trusted completely was dead. It was nice to have that feeling again, that someone was watching over her.

She woke with the first rays of sunlight in the morning. Obi-Wan was absently trailing circles over her breast with his thumb while he watched her sleep. His eyes smiled at her when she turned to him.

"Good morning beautiful," he said in a quiet tone, "Are you up for breakfast?"

Meleana stretched and nodded. Her appetite had come back and thought of food was enough to distract her from her worries.

"you'll have to forgive me, I'm a bit to tired to properly thank you for last night."

Meleana kissed his lips, "You already did."

"Are you up for breakfast then?"

Meleana had been looking forward to food. She was starving, and finally felt ready to eat a proper meal. Everyone was already up and in the dinning room waiting when they arrived. Meleana's appetite faded when a quick head count came up with one head to many. Obi-Wan sat down next to the uninvited guest, who he clearly could not see, and Meleana quickly changed course to sit next to Rendain.

"Good morning starlight," Rendain said in a teasing voice. It had been something he'd said to her when they were young to tease her for being so grumpy in the mornings.

Meleana cast a quick glance at the extra man at the table. He didn't seem to care that there were people eating there. His eyes cast around in a dead way. He watched without interest as everyone plated their food. Meleana looked down at her own plate, which Rendain had filled with fruit when she didn't attend to it herself.

Meleana started picking berries up off her plate and popping them into her mouth. She couldn't be bothered to listen to what anyone at the table was saying. Finally the man across from her seemed to notice her eyes locked on him. He looked straight at her, cocked his head inquisitively, then slowly smiled.

Meleana let out a squeak, she grabbed Rendain by the wrist and dragged him out of the room.

"Sure you can talk to me in private. I was done eating," He said when they'd stopped in the sitting room outside.

"Rendain… I… I've been seeing people," She said tentatively.

He raised a well sculpted black brow at her, "Yes, I know, and don't worry, I won't say anything to Master Windu about it."

Meleana was so relieved she almost cried, "You know? Thank the force."

Rendain smiled at pat her on the back, "You should know I would never go blabbing to any of the Jedi about your private life. Obi-Wan seems nice enough."

Meleana's heart sank, "No, not Obi-Wan."

"Really? I could have sworn-"

"Yes Obi-Wan! But I am seeing people with my eyes!"

Rendain was clearly trying not to laugh. "How else should you see them?"

"I mean, people that aren't there," Meleana felt tears flow from her eyes. She wasn't feeling like herself at all.

Rendain gave her a compassionate look at brushed the tears from her eyes, "I'll look into it, alright? You know you can always talk to me. Do you want me to see if I can convince Master Windu to change around the order of the search parties?"

Meleana shook her head, "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Do you?"

"No."

He gave her a big smile, "Then neither do I. Now can we finish our breakfast?"

Meleana paused and stared at the floor, trying to decide if she should say more. "I think I'm half dead, or mostly dead. I think that's why I'm seeing these things when no one else is."

To his credit Rendain did not look at her disapprovingly, or make any rude comments. He smiled at her in his reassuring brotherly way. "You don't look half dead, not even a little dead."

Meleana grit her teeth. "I'm serious!" She exposed the bite mark she'd gotten in the cave days ago. It still looked fresh, though it had been bandaged and cleaned daily. "I haven't healed at all, normally this would be nearly gone by now."

Rendain took her arm in his hands and let healing energy radiate through it. When he pulled his hands away the wound had healed around the edges, but was still red and raw in the center. This had never happened to him before, Meleana knew by the look on his face.

The shock disappeared from his face and he looked as calm as any Jedi would, "We'll figure this out."


	26. Chapter 26

That days search went about as well as the previous ones. Meleana and Obi-Wan had searched the entire place twice, and still had seen no sign of life. In a building as large and complex as the castle it was easy for one person to avoid being found. Meleana and Obi-Wan were in one of the least traveled stairways in the castle. There were no recent foot prints in the thick layer of dust which coated the stone stairs that made them think they'd have any luck there, but they had to try something new.

"I don't think I want to find her," Meleana said breaking the silence, "I think we should all get out of here on my ship while we still can."

"Yes, as you've said, at least twelve times."

"Remind me again, why are we doing this?"

"Since I've explained this to you at least eleven times, I'll stick with the simple answer," Obi-Wan said impatiently. "We're doing this because Master Windu told us to."

Meleana opened the door at the next landing. "We're searching this floor," She said in a bored tone.

Obi-Wan shrugged and went into the hall first. This hall was grander than any of the others.

"We haven't been here before," Obi-Wan said looking at the paintings hanging from the solid black stone walls. The floors in most of the castle were dark wood, but here they were the same black stone as the outside of the palace.

Meleana stepped carefully into the hall, "Well I guess that confirms she's using the secret passages. We were the first people to come up this way in a very long time."

The dust on this floor was thick, but it had been recently disturbed. There were only four doors, and tracks lead into two of them.

"If we search one, and she's in the other, she'll get away while we're distracted," Obi-Wan's voice was barely above a whisper.

Meleana nodded, "Good idea, we'll be much safer if we split up in the dark foreboding mansion haunted by the ghost of a Sith."

"Honestly you are insufferable sometimes!" It was hard for him to sound as commanding as he wanted in whisper.

"Well it's a stupid plan," Meleana's wide eyes seemed bewildered at his stupidity.

"Do you have a better one?" At this point he was mouthing the words, because he no longer trusted himself to speak in only a whisper.

"We go back to my ship and leave while we still can."

"Left or right?"

Meleana glared at him and went to the right. They both opened the doors at the same time and left them open so sound would carry easily through the hall.

Meleana looked around the room tentatively. It looked like a bedroom. Not because it looked like any bedroom she'd ever seen before, but because their was a bed in it. The bed was massive, She was willing to bet it was the size of her bedroom on the Jaded Star. The large four poster bed sat in the middle, off to the side was a large vanity, with three huge silver mirrors decorated with black and red jewels. To the left was a floor to ceiling window, and a sitting area. The sofa and chairs were covered in moth eaten black materials.

Hanging above the bed was a portrait of a woman, no less than three meters high. She was clearly a Sith. She dressed in tight black clothes, all made of leather and lace. Her long blonde hair hung down to the middle of her back. She was very thin, but their was nothing small about her. She had wiry features and cold black eyes that seemed to be laughing at her.

Meleana jumped when the door shut behind her. Not hard enough for Obi-Wan to hear, just a soft click. She backed up into the door and tried the handle, it didn't budge. Part of the wall slid away. Meleana swallowed hard to suppress any obvious reaction to the thing that stepped into the day light. It had been Master Tori at some point, but aside from the fact that she was walking around, she was very obviously dead. Her skin was paler than Meleana had ever seen on any living being. Her veins had turned an eerie blue-black, and her eyes glowed yellow in pools of black ooze. Her lips were blue, she smiled at Meleana revealing dark blue gums, it made her teeth seem impossibly white.

"Master Tori," Meleana said, still with her back pressed to the door. "You look… very alarming."

"You know better than to call me by that name," The other woman said. Her voice had an odd echo to it. As though Meleana was hearing both the body and the spirit possessing it speaking at the same time.

Meleana started to move off to the side. Every step Master Tori took towards her, she took one away.

"Why not call out for the other Jedi?" She asked in a taunting voice.

"You're holding the door shut with the force," Meleana backed into the vanity and stopped moving, "Or did you want to let him in?"

"I'd just like him to be close enough to hear you scream."

"Don't worry. I'm very loud."

Try as she might Meleana couldn't think of a descent plan to get herself out of her current predicament. The door to the secret passage was still open. She could get out that way, but that was as likely a trap as this room had been. Meleana gripped her lightsaber tightly. She could fight her way out, but didn't think killing Maser Tori was possible.

"I don't want to hurt you," Master Tori said softly.

"But you want to make me scream? I'm getting very mixed signals from you."

The Sith stopped a few meters from Meleana. "If you give yourself to me willingly I promise things will be easier on you. There is no sense in resisting. All I need do is touch you and your body will be mine."

Meleana tensed, this was more dangerous than she'd thought. "I don't think the dark and veiny look will really work for me."

The Sith looked at herself in the mirror behind Meleana. She didn't seem to like her appearance any more than Meleana did.

"I am decaying rather rapidly..." The Sith shrugged, "Oh well. Don't worry, your body will be perfectly preserved as it is now for as long as I live. Which will be a very long time."

The Sith closed the distance between herself and Meleana. The Jedi reached out with the force and sent her opponent flying just before she could lay a hand on her. As soon as the Sith was away Meleana bolted. She leapt over the bed, and ran into the secret tunnel.

Inside was pitch black. Meleana used the force to guide her as she raced through the tight space.

"You think to out run me in my own home?" The echoing voice taunted.

Meleana kept running, looking for a way out of the tight passage. She reached a fork and paused. She wasn't getting a good feeling about either of them.

"This way!" A young voice said.

Meleana could hear the Sith gaining on her, she didn't have anything to lose if she followed the voice. As Meleana jogged down the tunnel the source of the voice became visible. It was a small girl, no more than eight, with tangled brown hair. She started running when the Jedi had almost caught up to her.

"Follow me!" The girls voice sounded excited, Meleana didn't get the sense she was being mislead.

As she followed the girl she wished she could question her. What was she doing here? Who was she? Why was she helping her? And where were they going."

The girl stopped and pointed to the wall, "That way."

Meleana nodded and thanked the girl. She pushed the wall back with the force and stepped out into the brightly lit room. She turned back to question the girl, but she was already gone.

She could feel eyes on her. She spun around to examine her surroundings and breathed a sigh of relief. Sion and Darlean were seated around the table in the sunroom, tea cups and sandwiches were laid out in front of them.

Meleana laughed at the scene. She was running from the most horrific looking thing she'd ever seen, and they were eating tea sandwiches with the crust cut off. They both had dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"You two need to get out of here," She said when she was done laughing.

Meleana waltzed over to the rear door, the couples eyes still fixed on her. She tried the door and it didn't budge. She looked back at them and they shook their heads nervously. Meleana tried again, this time she gave it all she had. Again nothing happened. She tried the force, and found it still wouldn't budge. She grabbed a chair from the table and smashed it against the glass door, it bounced down to the floor. She motioned for the others to follow her, and together they made their way through every exterior door and window on the ground floor.

Obi-Wan was delayed in his search of the second room. It was the Sith's private office. He'd tried to be quick, but every time he laid eyes on another part of the room there was something else to investigate. He'd found he couldn't understand any of the writing in the room, but with the force he could make out what was important. He scanned through holos, which were also in an unfamiliar language. He set the things he thought could prove useful on the desk and went to check on Meleana. She should have been back already. He frowned at the closed door. He turned the handle, the door stuck, but opened with a heavy push. There was no sign of anyone inside, he could tell by the state of the room that something had happened. There wasn't much to knock around, but a chair was overturned, and the bed's decrepit linens were out of place.

With a bit of searching he found the secret passage entrance. Meleana must have gone through that way, since he hadn't heard her run out into the hall. He activated his lightsaber and stepped into the narrow tunnel. He'd never been so glad to see a place so filthy. There were two clear sets of footprints in the grime on the floor. One had a slight limp to it, the other had been running. He knew he was heading for danger, but there was no other way to track Meleana. He'd already learned how difficult a person could be to find in this place.

Meleana and her lightsaber had spent the better part of ten minutes attacking the front door. What had once been a beautifully carved piece of wood now looked like a very large stack of coals, but it was still in place.

Darlean and Sion were staring at her, the worry on their faces had only increased since she first came out of the walls.

"It might be best for you to put the weapon away," Sion said very gently.

Something crashed into the wall behind them, all three of them jumped. Meleana tightened her grip on her purple blade. A second crash splintered the wainscoting, and a third sent a body flying into the formal sitting room.

"What are you doing!" Meleana yelled at Obi-Wan as he slid into the sofa and knocked it back.

He winced in pain and glared up at her, "Thought it'd be fun to put myself through a wall."

Meleana felt the force pull at her. She cursed and grabbed the sofa, which began to slide along with her.

Obi-Wan leapt to his feet and with great effort used the force to propel Meleana back to the other side of the room.

"Now's not the best time to rearrange the furniture dearest," He said with a smart-ass grin.

As if in response Meleana flung the cocktail table towards the opening in the wall.

"You two need to run," Obi-Wan said as he helped Meleana hold the table over the wall with the force.

"We all need to run," Meleana corrected.

Force lightening licked the edges of the table. It splintered and electricity flooded the room. The Sith stepped out of the dark opening. She did not seem bothered by the two Jedi and terrified armed civilians pointing weapons at her. Master Tori's green blade was off to her side, as though she were still evaluating whether or not she would need to use it.

Darlean whipped out a blaster and fired it at the Sith. She blocked and the bolts flew towards the Jedi, they deflected them back to the Sith. Soon the room was filled with bouncing rays of energy.

"Put that blasted thing away!" Obi-Wan shouted. The three of them were bouncing the blaster bolts back and forth, and getting nowhere fast.

The bolts stopped coming, but were still ricocheting between the Jedi. The Sith's blue fingers pointed towards Meleana, force lightening poured out towards her. She blocked, but missed the blaster bolt that was heading back towards her. It hit her in the shoulder and her lightsaber jerked allowing the force lighting to hit her.

Obi-Wan jumped in front of her, his own blade deflecting the blue light, but Meleana was already on the ground conscious, but unable to move.

"Get her out of here," Obi-Wan said through gritted teeth.

The Sith stopped her force lightening and sent the non-Jedi flying with a wave of her hand. Obi-Wan attacked her in a frenzy. She blocked each one of his swings with ease, her full attention still not on him. He landed a kick to her abdomen while she blocked a swing at her head. She stumbled back and he continued swinging his blade, giving her no time to recover.

That gave the non-Jedi enough time to drag Meleana out of the room, which was all he cared about for the moment. The Sith noticed their absence and wet into a rage. She reached out with the force and slammed Obi-Wan into the frame of the door. She tossed him to the floor. He broke her force hold and leapt at her. He flipped over her and nearly struck a killing blow. Before he landed, as his lightsaber collided with hers she shot force lightening at him, and hit. He fell to the floor in a heap. His lightsaber was still clutched in his hands, but he couldn't move while the electricity was flowing through him. When he'd nearly lost consciousness the Sith stopped.

He could feel the vibration on the floor as she stepped towards him. He was paralyzed, and barely able to keep himself awake. He braced himself for the worst when the hideous thing that had once been a Jedi leaned over him. His lightsaber was snatched from his hand. He expected to die, but instead he felt a cold hand on his face.

"You're cute," The Sith slapped him gently and walked away.

Meleana was aware of what was happening, but unable to intervene in anyway. Sion way carrying her over his shoulder with some difficulty. He kept banging her head into the banister of the stairs as they ran, which wasn't helping her feel any better.

"Hurry up!" She heard Darlean call in a harsh whisper.

"She's heavier than she looks!" He responded in the same tone.

Meleana wiggled her fingers. Not that she could beat a Sith by pointing at it, but it was a start at least.

"Put me down," She said when she could feel her face.

Sion didn't stop his trek up the stairs until the reached the next floor. Her head was slammed into the frame of the door when he brought her into a room. Meleana cursed as he set her down gently.

"You two need to keep going without me," She was standing on her own, which at least made it appear that she was healthy enough to fight.

"You can't beat her alone," Darlean spoke as though she were actually an effective defense against a Sith lord.

"She's after me, if you get away she won't follow you. Keep going, find Master Windu," Meleana spoke to them in a hard voice. She didn't want them to think this was up for debate.

"What about you?" Darlean asked with a frown.

"I'll be fine, I'll figure something out, just get away from me. Now!"

They did as she asked, though neither looked happy about it. Whether that was because they worried for themselves or her she couldn't tell. She searched the room for an entrance to the passageways and found one. She'd decided to do the stupidest thing she could think of, go back. The Sith wouldn't expect her to turn around and walk straight towards her. She'd rather be walking in to danger than waiting for it to come to her, and she was worried about Obi-Wan.

She didn't go back the way they came, she wasn't even sure which way that was. She ambled around, stopping frequently to try to sense anyone around her. When she made it back to the destroyed sitting room unhindered she found herself even more on edge. Why wasn't the Sith looking for her? The thoughts were quickly cleared from her mind when she saw Obi-Wan lying in a heap on the floor.

She dropped down beside him and checked his pulse and breathing. Finding both were adequate she stroked his hair and scanned the room uneasily. He moaned softly and his eyes opened a few millimeters. She smiled and stroked his cheek. His hand shot up and grabbed her wrist she yelped in pain when he twisted it nearly to the breaking point. He seemed to realize what he was doing just in time and snatched his hand away.

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly. Whatever energy he'd had when he grabbed her seemed to have been used up.

She could tell he wouldn't be able to walk for a few minutes. Though what good would walking do if they couldn't get out? Meleana moved so she was sitting on the floor next to him and pulled him into her arms.

"What are we going to do?" She said quietly.

"We should find Master Windu."

She paused a moment to think before responding, "Do you really think that's such a good idea? He's the one who brought us here to begin with. He had to have known more than he was telling us about Korriban, and I refuse to believe he didn't know more about Master Tori. Really, did you see any sense in staying after our search turned up nothing? Given everything Sion and Darlean told us?"

"You think Master Windu had gone over to the darkside?" Obi-Wan didn't sound like he was taking her at all seriously.

"I think he's hiding something from us. Most things. A lot of very important things. He didn't bring a Sith holocron along for light reading. We're missing some key pieces of this puzzle."

Obi-Wan buried his head in her chest, which seemed to be all the movement he was up for.

"I'll say again, we should find Master Windu. Just as soon as I can feel my legs."


	27. Chapter 27

Meleana had only intended to close her eyes a few seconds, but when she opened them the entire room was gone, and so was Obi-Wan. The exterior walls were in place, but the entire bottom floor was one colossal room. Glossy stone floors reflected the dim light being cast from black crystal chandeliers. The large windows were all covered by drawn crimson velvet curtains. Meleana used the wall to brace herself as she got to her feet. Much to her surprise the pain in her shoulder and body had gone.

She took a moment to look around. She was sure she was still in the same house. She heard the sound of a woman clearing her throat and her eyes followed the sound. Down at the other end of the space was a throne, elevated from the rest of the unfurnished room by a large black stone slab. She recognized the Sith from her portrait. She was dressed in tight black clothing, which clashed with her long blonde hair. The contrast was all Meleana could make out from that distance.

"Come," the Sith's voice boomed.

Meleana furrowed her brow, "No."

"Walk or I will drag you," the Sith sat forward in her seat. "There's no reason you should lose your dignity. I don't mean to degrade you."

She paused and thought a second before slowly walking forward. She wondered what in the Galaxy anyone needed a room that large for as she made her way through it.

The Sith smiled at her when she was a meter away, "There, no reason to start a pleasant conversation unpleasantly," she laughed before Meleana could even speak, "you are going to say something about my being a vile evil creature of the darkside now I presume? Not exactly the way to start negotiations is it? No, but you Jedi always forget your manners when talking to those whose beliefs do not match your own."

"Oh, so this was all just a big misunderstanding? You aren't trying to kill us? Or walking around in the rapidly decomposing corpse of a Jedi Master? My apologies, I completely misread you."

"What I will do, and what I have been made to do are not all I am. I've brought you here so you can understand things. Under normal conditions you wouldn't speak with me,"

"You tried to kill me! Twice!" Meleana interrupted.

"You're already dead."

Meleana found the Sith's gentle tone even more disturbing than her commanding one.

"I am seeking to prevent more death, there is no need for your friends to die."

"And I'm sure once you have me, you'll use my body for charity?" Meleana scoffed, "Do you think I'm stupid, or weak? Kill me, and the other Jedi, but you're never getting out of here, not if I have any say in it."

The Sith arched her brow, "You don't. As I was saying, you're already dead. Though your body will not die as quickly as your soul. It could carry on for another eighty years. Can you imagine, a Jedi without a soul? You may think Sith evil, but we have our own codes, our own morals. That they differ from your own does not make us evil. But without a soul you will be. How long do you think the Council will allow you to go on before they notice? How many people will you yourself kill?" The Sith smiled as she gave Meleana a moment to process what she was saying. "You'll still be yourself, but the life of a hostage will no longer matter to you. The only thing you will care about is achieving your mission, no matter what the cost to life."

The sound of Alandra's laughter sent a chill down Meleana's spine.

"Why, you'd be the perfect Jedi. No compassion, no attachment, no hate or love," The Sith seemed delighted at the idea.

Meleana tried to ignore her words. She could easily be bluffing. "And then what? You've lived here for thousands of years, the rest of my lifetime will pass in an instant for you."

The Sith shrugged. "You're correct. Here I have unlimited power, I will exist for eternity, but why? I'm in a prison of my own making. I choose to look at my sudden mortality, and weakness, as a temporary situation. I've achieved this much. I don't think immortality is out of reach for me."

The Sith stared at her, as though she could see into Meleana's mind. Given what she'd seen so far Meleana wasn't sure that was outside the realm of possibility. Finally the blond woman's cold brown eyes locked on to hers.

"If you give yourself willingly I will spare your companions. They will be free to leave unharmed."

"I won't-"

"If you choose to resist, I will have you anyway, and I will kill them. I don't require your cooperation, but it will make things quite a bit easier on me. Your companions don't matter to me, dead or alive."

Meleana felt the presence of others before she saw them. The room which had been empty was now packed with people.

"I use them," The Sith said motioning towards the crowd around them, "and if your friends die within these walls, they will join them. They will never become one with the force, they will be trapped here for all eternity. Many of these souls worshiped the Sith or were Sith themselves. How do you think the Jedi will find it here?"

Meleana blinked tears from her eyes and tried not to look at the hundreds of faces staring at her. "We'll think of something," she didn't sound at all sure of her self.

"Fine," The Sith shifted on her throne. "You have until sunset tomorrow to think of something. Then I will come for you, and you will give yourself to me, or your friends will suffer for eternity. And you will suffer as long as I see fit,before joining them."

Obi-Wan had been sitting over Meleana for hours watching her. When it had become clear she wasn't going to wake up he had carried her to find the others. They were all in the library, trying to find some answer to what had been going on. Meleana's eyes shot open seconds before a deafening scream. She was clearly awake now, and out of her mind with pain. Her hands clutched her abdomen as her screams subsided. Tears rolled down her cheeks from her unblinking eyes. He reached out a hand to comfort her, but stopped short when she flinched back.

Everyone had crowded around her when she started screaming. All five seemed to think they'd some how be able to help with her phantom pain. Her eyes moved over them frantically as though she were looking for someone in the crowd hovering over her. She pushed her way through them and dashed out of the room with alarming speed. Obi-Wan hurried after her, and hoped the others would realize she didn't need five people to prod her.

Meleana was in the hall gripping her lightsaber with white knuckles. She turned from left to right frantically staring down the long dark halls. She jumped when Obi-Wan said her name and spun towards him. Her entire body way tensed for a moment before she relaxed. She loosened her grip on her lightsaber and held it towards him.

"Take it," she said when he didn't move.

"Why?"

The steely look in her eyes faded as she looked into his. She closed the distance between them and kissed him. He felt her hand clip the blade to his belt while her other came up to cup his face.

"Because you lost yours, and you're a better fighter than I am."

He didn't say anything about the tears streaming down her cheeks. He knew she wouldn't explain them.

"If I'm so much better, why are you the one with the lightsaber?" He asked with a smile trying to lighten the mood.

Meleana's hand held his in place when he tried to remove her lightsaber from his belt.

"I want you to have it," Meleana shook her head at him, "Don't argue with me."

"Does this mean you don't want to see me any more?" He said with a boyish grin.

She didn't laugh, but she smiled, and shook her head, "I love you," her voice was barely a whisper.

He brushed the tears off of her face with his thumb and tried to gauge what she was thinking from the look in her eyes. He'd thought he'd become fairly familiar with her facial expressions, but this wasn't one he'd seen before. She looked hopeless.

"What happened?" He asked in a soft voice.

Meleana looked at the door, then back to him, she didn't seem to want to answer him.

"Is there any food in there?"

Obi-Wan was taken aback by the question, though he wasn't sure why. After all, Meleana was prone to changing the subject.

"No, Oddly no one stopped by the kitchen while running from the murderess undead Sith lord. We'll have to have a talk with them about their poor survival tactics."

Meleana smiled, "Lets go, I'm sure everyone will be hungry once they've settled down."

Meleana grabbed his hand and started leading him down the hall.

Obi-Wan was going to argue, but he quickly realized needing food and water was inevitable. It would do them no good to stay together in the library and die of thirst. He did insist on letting the others know where they were going though.

"Has the sunset on today yet?" Meleana asked as they walked through the halls.

He found the phrasing of the question a little odd, but chose not to point it out. "Hours ago," he answered after he'd glanced at the clock.

"Wonderful... alright. That's alright. We still have some time."

"Time for what?"

Meleana ignored him as she headed towards the stairway. She seemed unusually jumpy. Her eyes kept moving, occasionally fixing on something Obi-Wan couldn't see.

"Meleana," He grabbed her arm to slow her before she reached the stairwell. "Are you alright? You woke up screaming, and now you're feeling peckish?"

Meleana turned towards him but her eyes didn't meet his. She was fixed on something behind him.

"I've just got a lot on my mind, nothing to worry about. Did any of you have any luck figuring out what exactly is going on here?"

Meleana turned abruptly and began walking again before he could answer.

"Master Windu thinks the Sith is somehow drawing energy from this place to create a force barrier. We're all fairly confident destroying her spirit will remove the barrier."

He nearly crashed into her when she stopped walking. She halted as though startled by thin air, then diverted her course and continued into the dimly lit stairwell.

"And Master Windu knows how to destroy a Force ghost?"

"Not as such, but we're working on it."

"Working on it? Working towards it? Stabbing blindly? What have you got?"

Obi-Wan paused before deciding to tell her the truth. "Nothing. Not yet."

Try as he might to ignore it, Obi-Wan was sensing a great deal of things from Meleana. All of his senses told him she was hiding something important. Increasingly he sensed her emotions settling into one, anger. Given how tumultuous she appeared he was worried any more prying on his part would only further set her off.

He became so wrapped up in his thoughts that he lost track of Meleana, who was racing down the stairs as though the kitchen were about to close. Realizing she was alone and unarmed he hurried to catch up to her. Meleana was standing on the next landing, she didn't even acknowledge his arrival, she was fixed on the dark hall ahead.

"This way?" the way she spoke sounded more like a question than an order. She walked into the black hall without looking back to see is he was following.

The dim light of the staircase quickly faded as they walked. Obi-Wan ignited Meleana's lightsaber, the purple light made the hall feel a bit more cheerful.

"Where are we going?" He asked, not liking the sudden detour into the pitch black unknown.

Meleana shook her head, "I'm not sure."

"So why are we going this way? This seems needlessly dangerous."

"It isn't. We're safe for now."

Obi-Wan sighed, "Oh really? I thought we were being hunted by undead Sith, glad we've cleared that up. Knowing that you've decided she's no longer a danger makes me feel much better."

A door swung open further down the hall. Despite having a lightsaber, and knowing how to use it, Obi-Wan felt more uneasy than he had since they'd arrived.

"Relax," Meleana looked back at him with a smile, "That door isn't trying to kill us."

"What is it doing?"

"Nothing. It's a door."

Meleana walked through the open door before he could stop her. Obi-Wan was sure there was something he was missing. She seemed to be seeing something he wasn't, and he didn't like the feeling at all. He heard Meleana flip the lights in the room on, but the room remained shrouded in darkness. This floor clearly hadn't been maintained by any of the staff.

From what he could make out from the light of the moon and the lightsaber, everything in the room, which wasn't much, was covered in white sheets. Meleana reached out to remove a sheet from the largest object in the room, it was at least half a meter taller than her and twice as wide. She paused before her hand reached the sheet and sent it flying with the force. He thought it odd for her to use the force in such a seemingly frivolous way.

Meleana nodded, which seemed a very strange thing for her to do, since he hadn't said anything.

"We saw one like this on Korriban," She said not taking her eyes off of the thing she had just uncovered.

Obi-Wan didn't remember much from Korriban, and from what he'd gathered that was a good thing.

Meleana turned back to Obi-Wan, "This was a prototype for the weapon or Korriban. The idea was it would turn a human being into a vessel. It would drain a person of their soul and change them. Slow if not stop aging..." Meleana paused as though she was listening to something, "It was nasty stuff though. It usually went all wrong. The one on Korriban was an upgraded model. Alandra partnered with another Sith... what? Oh... she died before it was completed. The other Sith kept it for himself... and was subsequently killed by Alandra's apprentice."

Obi-Wan looked at the machine, then back at her. Her attention was off of him again. She'd shifted her attention away from him several times while she spoke, as though there were someone else in the room speaking to her and she was simply translating.

"How exactly do you know that?" He asked, making sure she knew by his tone that he expected the question to get a straight answer.

Meleana's attention didn't return to him for another minute or so. When it did she seemed hesitant to speak.

"Because the Sith used it on Master Tori, and it went horribly wrong," Meleana said blinking tears out of her eyes, "And Master Tori is relativity certain the only way to reverse what's happening to me is through this machine."


	28. Chapter 28

"What do you mean? What's happening to you?" Obi-Wan asked calmly. He wasn't sure he believed the things Meleana was seeing were real.

Meleana winced and clutched at her temple. She squeezed her eyes shut. It was several minutes before she answered him.

"Nothing, forget I said anything. Meleana kicked the large piece of equipment hard enough to move it back a few feet. "It's not like we'll be able to do anything in time. I don't think there's a blasted owner's manual anywhere!"

He gripped her firmly by the shoulders to stop her, "That isn't true. You know your way around machines. Just calm down."

"Calm down?" Meleana seethed, "I am sorry I do not have your superior grip on Jedi calm! I am sorry if watching everyone do useless research isn't enough to placate me!"

"Meleana-"

"No! None of you need to worry. None of you have anything to lose!" Meleana slammed the machine against the unbreakable window with the force. She repeated the action a few times before storming out of the room without another word to Obi-Wan.

He looked at the mess she had made of the room. Most of the sheets that had been covering the contents of the room had blown off, anything that wasn't bolted down had toppled over. He hurried after her when the sound of her rapid footsteps faded.

"Will you please tell me what is going on?" He asked when he'd caught up to her.

"Nothing is going on. Nothing at all."

"Right, because you abuse inanimate objects all of the time, and you're often described as seething."

"It doesn't matter! There's nothing we can do! None of us understand ancient Sith machines, we're not going to engineer some magical cure in the next day! Just forget I said anything! Let's make some blasted sandwiches and tell stories and smile and have a nice time!" By the end of her rant she was screeching.

Obi-Wan blinked at her, "Meleana, you are going to tell me what is going on, or I am going to force the information out of you."

"Really? What are you going to do to me? Chop me to bits with my own lightsaber?"

He arched his brow, "I was thinking along the lines of sexual torture, but I can see how you might assume I'd hack you to little pieces and bury your body in the wall. What in the galaxy is wrong with you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Given all that's gone on since I've met you, there is very little I find hard to believe."

"Alright," She said in an overly snotty tone, "The device you- the device that was used on me on Korriban is killing me."

"And you know you only have one day to live?" He asked when she didn't elaborate.

"Tomorrow night..." Meleana seemed to be having trouble breathing, "My visions..." She dropped to her knees, her face contorted in pain, but she didn't appear able to draw the breath she needed to scream.

He dropped down beside her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. He couldn't see anything wrong with her, but she obviously wasn't breathing. The sound of her sobs as she gasped to refill her lings with air was a relief. He had no idea what to do for her. Nothing that was happening made any sense. Even his use of the Force was compromised, even if it hadn't been he'd never excelled at healing.

Meleana's lungs felt like they'd just been removed, beaten, and shoved back into her chest. Though she was at least able to use them again, her chest burned every time she gulped in air. She looked up at Obi-Wan, at his lovely gray eyes. She didn't think he'd ever looked so helpless before. She wasn't doing a terribly good job of remaining calm. If she did survive, it was likely she'd spend a great deal of time having psychiatric evaluations done.

"I'm sorry," she said in a hoarse voice, "Rendain is good with computers. Maybe he'll be able to figure that stupid thing out."

Obviously the stupid Sith didn't want Meleana giving away any important details. After all, if the Jedi knew she was coming she'd have a much harder time getting away. She didn't care so much that she was about to die, it was the body she was leaving behind she was worried about. She had to find some way to destroy herself, to keep the Sith trapped in her decrepit mansion.

"Go get Rendain," Meleana was still catching her breath, "I'll wait here."

"I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'll be fine. If the Sith wanted me dead she'd have killed me already. I need to catch my breath."

"Then we'll wait," he said stubbornly.

"Please Obi, we don't have enough time."

He smiled at her, "We always have enough time to argue, love."

She rolled her eyes, "Just go."

His gray eyes met hers. She knew he suspected she was up to something, and he wasn't wrong. Her hope was he'd do as she wished to appease her. His presence hadn't done any good so far, there was no reason he shouldn't do something that at least had a slim chance of helping her.

Obi-Wan ran back to the library. His momentum carried him as he burst through the door. All eyes turned to him as his fixed on Rendain.

"Meleana needs you, she's in the hall four floors down. Tell her I'll catch up with you."

Rendain looked as though he wanted to question Obi-Wan, but the look in the Jedi's eye stopped him from making a peep. He hurried out of the room.

"I need a moment alone with Master Windu, if you wouldn't mind waiting in the hall,," neither of the civilians made a peep as they hurried into the hall. Clearly they did not want to be caught between Obi-Wan and Mace.

"What aren't you telling us?" Obi-Wan said in the same curt tone he'd used on Sion and Darlean.

"There is nothing-"

"You have been acting strangely from the start of this mission. The holocron is still on Meleana's ship, so why is it your secretive behavior is continuing. What aren't you telling us? We already have one dead Jedi. We're on a mission that a Sith baited us into, and we have been kept largely in the dark about everything. If there is something we don't know about this mission now would be the time to share it."

"If I knew anything I believed helpful-"

"Start from the beginning. The Sith killed Master Tori long before we received her information. Anything could be a clue. Something is happening to Meleana, the information you are keeping from us could be vitally important."

Master Windu did not look as though he was inclined to share anything with Obi-Wan. While Obi-Wan had tried to keep his tone level, he could tell by the grave look in the Jedi Master's eyes that he had failed.

"Jedi Kenobi, you would do well to trust that I would share any information that may spare Meleana from her fate."

"What fate?"

Master Windu appraised him briefly before continuing. "Please believe had I known the danger of this mission I never would have brought such a young Knight along. I hadn't thought there would be anything of real danger on Korriban, beyond the temptations of the darkside," Master Windu paused and met Obi-Wan's eyes, "I know how you feel about her-"

"How I feel about her is not pertinent to this conversation," he said emotionlessly.

"She is dying, she has been dying since the moment the current of that machine ran through her... the only way I could find that had even the smallest hope of saving her is not a course you will like. Think Obi-Wan, why would I keep us here, with civilians, in this far corner of the galaxy, when we were already sure Master Tori was dead?" Master Windu sighed and stood up. He paced over to the window and stared out into the darkness. "Her soul is dying, without some intervention to repair it the Jedi Knight we know will cease to exist. It was my hope, that giving the Sith what she wanted would make Meleana whole again, that we would be able to find a way to destroy the Sith's spirit after..."

Obi-Wan couldn't believe any part of what he was hearing. Not only was it ridiculous, if it was true, if any of this farfetched story was to be believed, than Master Windu was giving Meleana over to a Sith. He wanted to say something, anything, to fill the silence, but he could barely believe what Mace had said. Finally, unwilling to respond to anything the Jedi had just said, lest he make it more real, he rushed out of the room. He would find a way to fix Meleana, without killing her first.

Meleana was not where she was supposed to be. Rendain sighed heavily, wandering through the dark halls of a haunted castle wasn't his ideal evening. He saw a silhouette of a woman up ahead, she was slowly walking towards him. Though he wasn't a Jedi, his own use of the force generally gave him a sense of people. Since coming to this place his senses had been dulled. He didn't need the force to tell him the figure moving towards him was not Meleana. Her gait was all wrong, she was too tall, that left only one other female.

He took a deep breath and pushed back the fear that was bubbling up inside him. "Where is Meleana?"

"In the kitchen," the strange echoing voice said from the darkness.

Rendain started to walk backwards slowly as the Sith continued to approach. The macabre female stepped into the moonlight. Though it wasn't the first time Rendain had seen her the sight still made him nauseous. The smell didn't help things.

"Runaway little boy, I'll play with you later."

As tall as he was, Rendain was not often called a little boy. In this case though, he was not inclined to argue. He continued slowly backing towards the stairs. Once there he shut the door and broke into a run.

In the kitchen Meleana was staring at a large knife. She hadn't bothered to turn any lights on, but the moonlight still glinted off the large silver blade. Suicide wasn't something she ever thought she'd consider. Now that she'd tried and failed to slash her own wrists, stab her own heart, and slit her own throat she was beginning to wonder if she'd be able to pull it off. It wasn't that she lacked the resolve, a quick death seemed far superior to any of the other options the Sith had given her, she was just finding it physically impossible to penetrate her own flesh. The harder she pressed the more flexible her skin seemed to become.

She slammed the knife down on the counter, she'd already hung herself, that hadn't worked. The rope broke every time. Now she was feeling fat, depressed, and suicidal. Finally she decided to throw herself down the stairs, that had to do something, at least move her in the direction of dead. She walked up to the landing and flung herself down the stairs vertically. She landed on her head, it hurt, but the angle was all wrong. She went for a second try. She flew through the air the second time she heard footsteps rapidly approaching.

"What the hell are you doing!" Rendain was practically shrieking.

"What does it look like I'm doing! Trying to kill myself!" Meleana was sure she should have broken her neck that time, but it had bent, not broken.

"Oh, well alright then! Here stand between me and the Sith lord following me down the stairs," Rendain motioned to the landing in front of him.

"What!" Meleana jumped in front of him and stood ready for a fight. She called the knife from the counter to her with the force. "She isn't supposed to be here until tomorrow!"

"You've worked out a schedule then?"

She could hear footsteps, but it didn't sound like the stiff shuffle of the undead Sith. When Obi-Wan rounded the corner at a dead run they all let out a short cry of surprise.

Rendain pulled at his thick black hair, "We have to get out of here, she knows you're in the kitchen."

"Of course she knows I'm in the kitchen she has someone watching me in every room!" Meleana spun towards Rendain, her knife still pointing outwards.

Both men glanced around the room, but neither commented on its being empty.

"Right... give me the knife," Rendain held out a hand and waited for her to release it.

"No!"

"She's trying to kill herself," Rendain said to Obi-wan.

Obi-Wan grabbed her wrist and twisted the knife out of her hand.

Meleana crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Before any of you say anything, I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. There is nothing to talk about."

The men exchanged concerned glances before turning back to her.

"Nothing to talk about?" Obi-Wan repeated skeptically.

"Nothing, I am completely invincible. I couldn't kill myself even if I wanted to... which I do..." Meleana trailed off, she seemed lost in thought. That she had just casually confessed to suicidal tendencies didn't seem to faze her.

"Does this have something to do with the people you're seeing?' Rendain asked gingerly.

"People? Multiple people? Really? After everything we've been through, you still think I'm alright with that!" Obi-Wan took a deep breath, "alright... now's not the best time to get into this..."

"This isn't about you, you idiot," Rendain said with a roll of his eyes. "She sees dead people!"

Meleana rubbed her eyes, "Not the right dead people. Not one who can help, or explain, or point me in the right direction. This madness isn't helping! None of this is helping! If I can't kill myself then we should just make some sandwiches and try to have a nice time!"

Obi-Wan tossed his hands up. "Sure, that sounds perfectly reasonable."

"To be fair I don't think anyone has a better idea," Rendain's voice had lost all trace of emotion. "I think, the three of us should calmly talk things over."

"Over sandwiches," Meleana stressed.

"I believe I sent you to look at that machine. Which I'd gather you haven't done," Obi-Wan said in a harsh tone.

"The half dead Sith in the hall sort of turned me off the whole thing."

"I'm afraid figuring the machine out isn't optional. If the Sith is up there we need to hurry."

Obi-Wan grabbed Rendain by the arm and dragged him along before he had the opportunity to argue.

"Well I'm not going! I'm serious about these sandwiches!" Meleana muttered to herself.


	29. Chapter 29

The room where the machine had been just minutes ago was now nearly empty. There were a few things still scattered across the floor near the large window. Both Obi-Wan and Rendain tried to pry the window open until they were out of breath. Knowing it wouldn't budge, but having no other option but to try.

"She's dead," Obi-Wan said softly, resigning himself to the inevitable.

"She's already dead! That's the problem!" Rendain pulled at his thick black hair, which was getting thinner by the hour.

"No... Meleana, she's dead. That machine was our only chance of fixing what happened to her on Korriban."

"It's not gone, it's just outside. We just have to get outside. We just have to kill that- re-kill that undead Sith, and get outside."

Obi-Wan nodded, and tried to pull his thoughts away from the worst case scenario. "We should get back to the others."

"I doubt Mel will be there. She doesn't seem to keen on group activities right now."

"Right, well you should keep her company."

Rendain chuckled and shook his head, "I'm the only one here with any real world skills. I hardly think two Jedi are better than one in this debate. You watch her. There's nothing you'll think up that Windu won't."

Obi-Wan wasn't too pleased with being dismissed, or the hive mentality Rendain was projecting on him. "You don't think much of the Jedi."

"The feeling is mutual. Trust me," Rendain walked out of the room, "You're going downstairs," he called back.

Meleana was in the kitchen staring at the reflection of the woman behind her in a half empty bottle of wine.

"You having fun watching me?" She asked taking another swig from the bottle. "This a big deal for you? Watching the Mistresses new body?" Meleana turned around, angry that the spirit hadn't answered her. "You're first chance to talk in how long, and you ignore me?" Meleana chugged the rest of the bottle and threw it at the spirit. It smashed to pieces on the wall behind the figure. "Screw you! You ethereal pain in the ass! Screw all of you! And tell your Mistress her new liver is shot, would you? You... I'm out of insults!"

Meleana stood up and went back to the liquor cabinet. She never did make any sandwiches. She pulled out the first bottle she could find and immediately started in on it.

Obi-Wan stopped at the foot of the stairs and took in the sight of broken glass and the bottoms-up bottle in Meleana's hands.

She swore when she was done drinking, "Even the good stuff is awful... you look like you know what's going on."

Obi-Wan stitched his brow, unsure of what Meleana was getting at. "What?"

"Like," she began a poor imitation of his accent, "Oh force, seems I've lost that damned machine... guess we're all going to die. I had a bad feeling about this!" She dropped her accent, "Now you'll probably cut someone's hand off because you're upset! Just all the time, with you and the hands! What do you have against hands? Not everyone can afford a replacement you know!" As she finished her rant Obi-Wan came up to her and pulled the bottle from her slack grasp.

"Did you eat anything?" He asked placing the bottle on the counter.

"The machines gone. Isn't it?"

He nodded.

She looked down at the floor and tried to keep her breathing steady. It was grasping at straws to hope they'd figure out how to reverse engineer an ancient machine none of them knew a thing about. Now she was completely out of options.

"Why me? I'm not the strongest, or the fastest, or the best at anything. Aside from being a drunk disappointment and shaming the order..."

Obi-Wan chose not to dignify Meleana's self deprecating with a response. "Have you spoken to her? The Sith?" He asked after a moment of silence.

Meleana nodded, "She'll kill everyone if I don't give myself over willingly by tomorrow night."

"She'll have to. No one here will let you die, or let a Sith loose on the galaxy without a fight."

"I won't let her."

"You think she'll just let us all go? No. We will figure something out. We will find a way out of here. The machine may still be working, she pushed it out the window-"

"It's on the fourth floor," Meleana shook her head, "The one on Korriban is destroyed."

"There must be a record of how she made them somewhere in here. We'll build a new one."

"This is so stupid. How did I get mixed up in this! This sort of thing doesn't happen!" Meleana snatched the bottle back up and took another drink before Obi-Wan took it away again.

"Anyway," He pulled her into his chest and hugged her, "We have until tomorrow night to worry about all of that. There are four people who care very much for you upstairs working on this right now. And that leaves you and I to enjoy the evening however we'd like. And I won't have you passing out early on me."

"I can't have sex with her watching."

Meleana stared at the ghost a few feet from them. Obi-Wan's eyes followed hers, but he saw nothing. Meleana started thinking, about her wounds that wouldn't heal, and the fact that she could now see the dead, and an idea popped into her head. She advanced towards the woman, who didn't even flinch at her approach and swung at her with all her might. To her delight her fist collided with something solid. The ghost staggered back stunned by Meleana's attack. Before she could react Meleana kicked up into her gut. Before she could feel her body collide with the spirit again she was out cold.

"What are you doing?" The Sith's cold voice demanded.

"Exactly what it looks like. Trying to beat the undead back to death."

The Sith rolled her eyes. "It won't work."

"Well it makes me feel better! And if it won't work why the sudden alarm? Why drag me back here? I'm sure you have more than enough lackeys to last you until tomorrow night."

"That isn't the point! You've already disrupted things enough here! I won't have you bludgeoning the help!"

Meleana sized the Sith up. There was something she didn't want her to know. She had to gain power from the souls she had trapped here somehow. If Meleana was dead enough to hurt them, she was willing to bet she was dead enough to draw that same power.

"It won't happen again," She said with a smile.

"See that it doesn't."

Meleana came to in Obi-Wan's arms. The spirit gave her a snotty smile and continued to stare. Meleana looked from her back to Obi-Wan and nodded that she was alright. She remembered how good touching him made her feel when she'd first come to on her ship. It had only happened with him, but he was the only one who was always open to her.

"We need to meditate, and I need to do something. It might feel a little strange."

Obi-Wan looked a bit taken aback, but finally nodded and sat up. They sat cross legged facing each other and Meleana took his hands in hers.

"If you start to feel something, try closing yourself off to me."

"Alright."

Meleana focused on the other life force in the room. She still couldn't sense the spirit. She'd need to work on that if this worked. She focused herself on Obi-Wan's energy until she felt one with it. It didn't take long with him. Then she tried pulling it to her, calling it the way she would an object with the force, but mentally. She let out an airy gasp when she felt warmth start to flood from his hands to hers. It stopped as quickly as it had started. So she tried harder. She let her mind go completely from the physical world. Finally, when she was no longer aware of her own heartbeat or breath she sensed the other spirits. Then she heard Obi-Wan screaming.

Meleana snapped back to reality and pulled away from him. She leapt to her feet and stumbled back towards the spirit as if she was unaware of her presence. She stood in arms distance of the woman while she focused herself, back to the energy she had felt before. When she could feel the woman with the force she snapped her arm back, grabbed her, and pulled with all the force energy she could muster. The woman was gone in seconds. A cry of victory echoed across the kitchen before Meleana fell to the floor again.

"Do you think you can win! I've been doing this for ages, you've done it once to a house maid!" The Sith was seething pacing in circles around Meleana.

"Are you afraid?" Meleana asked calmly.

"Afraid? No, but don't think your tricks will work."

"What do you intend to do? Keep me here? I'll grow old and die, and you'll lose your vessel. You can't act here and on the physical plain. If you could I'd be dead already. You shouldn't be so quick to anger," Meleana smirked, "I know I can hurt you now. You may kill me, and everyone here I love, but I swear on my Master's grave it will hurt like hell. By the time I'm done there will be so little of you left you'll be sucking the souls out of vermin trying to claw your way out of your gaudy castle."

The Sith snarled at her and Meleana was hurled back to reality.

Obi-Wan was still on the floor when she came to again. He was pale and sweating, but otherwise looked unharmed.

"What just happened?"

"I may have... eaten part of your soul... and then I ate a maid, and the Sith got a little perturbed at me."

"You ate my soul? I love you darling, but I do draw the line at consuming my soul."

"Well I didn't know I would take such a big bite!" Meleana shrugged. "I'm sorry, I'm new at the whole Force-vampire thing. I think it's a largely unexplored concept. I should write a book."

"Well at least you're thinking about the future now," Obi-Wan lifted himself into a sitting position.

"I think I can kill her. If I can get good enough at this... She needs to touch me, maybe if I can figure out how to do it without touching," Meleana was looking excitedly at Obi-Wan.

"I'm sorry love, but if you are sucking anything else out of me this evening it won't be my soul."

Meleana felt better than she'd ever felt. Her whole body felt like it was humming. She pulled the bandage off her arm and excitedly showed her unmarked skin to Obi-Wan.

"It healed!" She exclaimed giddily, "Come on, let's go find more ghosts!"

Obi-Wan stitched his brow. Even having felt her pull his own soul out, he wasn't sure he believed the drunk woman who suddenly pictured herself as a soul sucking force vampire. He grabbed her arm to keep her from skipping out of the room. Her mood swings were beginning to try his patients.

"Meleana, darling, I am so glad to see you are," he was having trouble finding the right words to describe exactly what she was doing, "We need to talk."

Meleana looked like a frustrated teen who'd just been told to change, "I can't... she'll stop me."

"Alright," Obi-Wan held his hands out to her, "like this then."

Just as they were beginning to connect through the force Meleana cried out and their connection was severed, "She doesn't want us to communicate."

"Well she should really enjoy our relationship then," Obi-Wan quipped.

"Come on," Meleana said heading for the stairs.

Obi-Wan followed without an argument. At the first lading he held Meleana's arms and pressed her against the wall. With her arms over her head he wrapped his hands around hers while his lips devoured hers. He hopped the hand holding would clue her in to what he was trying to do. Although making out in the stairway would be a fine consolation prize if they didn't manage telepathic communication.

_"__Well hello there," Obi-Wan said when he felt Meleana connect to him._

"This is interesting," while they could hear each heat the others voice their mouths were very busy devour each other.

"It's a first for me. Now, please explain exactly what is going on."

Meleana moaned.

"You aren't getting out of this. I literally have you cornered, and I'm in your head."

"Alright, but stop grinding against me like that. It's incredibly distracting."

"Sorry... my body has a mind of its own."

"Right. Where to start. I'm not even sure what is relevant. I guess the visions came first. For months now I've felt myself dying in the gardens here. Then this guy showed up and said I was going to die. That a friend had hired him to help. When we got here I realized this was the place from my visions."

"Go back to the guy who told you you were going to die. That is really not an adequate explanation."

"That's all I have. He was just a guy. A human. I told him to leave me alone. He showed up the night you made me go to the medcenter and did something. I don't know what."

"Wonderful... I feel much better now."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you!"

"Alright, alright, back on topic."

"I've been seeing and hearing things since we got here. The Sith came to me on my ship before we even arrived to taunt me. She keeps pulling me out of myself to talk to me. She said I have until sunset tomorrow to surrender myself and let her use my body for herself or she'd kill everyone."

"Well you aren't doing that."

"I don't want to do that. We only have the day though, to figure out some alternative or she'll kill everyone and take me anyway. I don't see what good any of this information is, since we already know we've got nothing."

"She seemed more than a little upset that you'd figured out how to absorb life forces."

"True. So we have that."  
>"What if we-"<p>

"What in the galaxy are you two doing!" Master Windu broke their connection with his stern voice.

Obi-Wan pulled his lips off of Meleana. He wasn't sure taking a step back and revealing his erection would help anything.

"Master. I assure you there is a perfectly good explanation for this," Obi-Wan said in his best Jedi tone.

Master Windu was standing with his arms crossed making a face that conveyed a number of different things "how stupid do you think I am?", "How stupid are you?", and "This had better be good."

"We were communicating through the force without alerting the Sith," Obi-Wan said as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"And your explanation for your continued embrace of Jedi Ariadne?"

"I was feeling very vulnerable," Meleana chimed in.

Obi-Wan stepped away from Meleana, "Have you had any luck working out our current dilemma?"

"No, I was coming to find you to make sure you two were alright. Clearly not soon enough. There are only so many things I can over look on one mission."

"Understood, Master. I would be happy to go over what I just explained to Jedi Kenobi. If you're interested."

The way she said the last part made both Obi-Wan and Mace do a double take.

"Do you think that is necessary?" Mace sounded intrigued.

"I do not think that is necessary," Obi-Wan said a little too forcefully, "We are on a bit of a time crunch after all. There were some items in Darth Tormentia's office I thought might prove of some use. Perhaps you would be able to translate them, Master. I was unable to make anything out on them."

"So you would like me to go upstairs and leave the two of you alone?" Master Windu did not look amused.

"I need to hunt ghosts," Meleana sounded as though she knew exactly how silly she sounded.

Master Windu shook his head, "Alright. Obi-Wan, I trust that you are not sending me on a fool's errand because I highly doubt you would risk pushing me anymore then you already have. I will look into the Sith's office. You two hunt ghosts, communicate through the force. Do whatever it is you need to do, but meet us back in the archives by sunrise. Understood?"

Both the Jedi bowed, "Yes, Master."


	30. Chapter 30

"Well that was interesting," Meleana said as they walked through the lower levels of the palace.

"It certainly was. Were you actually going to kiss him?"

"Only to prove your innocence," She said casually.

"You are unbelievable."

She glanced back at him playfully, "Are you mad?"

"No. You are actually unbelievable. How many people would think the best way to get out of hot water with a Council member for kissing another Jedi would be to offer to make out with that Council member? I'm just glad he only caught us kissing."

Meleana snickered, "communicating through the force of your penis in my vagina?"

"You grew up in the Jedi temple. Where did you learn to be so crass?" Obi-Wan asked shaking his head.

Meleana shrugged, "The streets, I guess."

She stopped when they entered the next room. It was a game room by the looks of it. There were tables set up for different recreational activities. This had to have been a more recent addition to the house. Obi-Wan could hardly imagine a dark lord of the Sith having a game room.

"Have you ever played this one before?" Meleana asked walking up to one of the tables.

She started looking around for the equipment. She wandered to the other side of the room, allegedly because there was a game piece she needed. She stopped and attacked the air, which Obi-Wan assumed meant she'd found another ghost. When they made it back to Coruscant he was going to need to be sure she had some kind of counseling.

"That feels amazing!" She said. She ran over and jumped on him with her arms around his shoulders and his legs around his waist.

He quickly moved to grab her so she wouldn't slip, "Do you have something to tell me?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No. I'm just all hopped up on ghost energy," Meleana kissed him, "Your face is all scratchy." She rubbed her hand over his stubble covered cheek.

He furrowed his brow, "So is yours."

Meleana glared and kissed him again before hopping off of him, "Let's keep going."

Now that she had a weapon Meleana felt alive again. She had hope she could win the fight. Obi-Wan tailed her at a cautious distance as she raced from one room to another anxiously seeking another rush of energy.

"What are you doing?" He finally puffed out of breath when they had reached a dead end in one of the lower floors cavernous hallways.

"They're gone!" She snapped pulling at her hair. She needed a pool of evil souls that weren't being controlled by the person she needed to kill.

"We should go check on the others," Obi-Wan was casting a hesitant gaze around the hall as though he expected to see something.

Meleana let out a sigh of resignation as they started back towards the library. She mentally cursed the Sith, knowing she was up to something. The darkside overwhelmed their senses. For all they knew their friends were upstairs being tortured by a swarm of the undead. Though she at least felt she had a fighting chance, it still seemed unlikely that this would end in anything but her death. She wasn't quite ready to lay down and accept that possibility. They continued down the halls, back towards the nearest stairway.

"She's waiting for you," Master Tori's spirit appeared at the head of the staircase.

"Fantastic," Meleana said as they climbed.

"What is?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Where is everyone?" Meleana asked. The spirit fell in line with their steps as they passed her.

"Upstairs with your friends. We're all trapped here. The Sith seems to want them close. She's waiting to ambush you."

"So much for having until sundown," Meleana scoffed, "Can you do anything to them?" Meleana asked, wondering if she'd be able to sneak past the Sith to get to her spectral companions.

"Oh, you're not talking to me..." Obi-Wan sounded resigned to the madness going on around him.

"Not that I'm aware of. I'm sorry to say this, but I can't imagine this is going to end well for you. Anything you do will only enrage her. If you go peacefully she may at least keep a cool enough head to spare your friends."

"With an attitude like that I can't imagine why your life ended prematurely," Meleana said with an eye roll.

"Now that's charming," Obi-Wan snapped, "I certainly hope you aren't speaking to a Jedi Master like that."

Tori eyed Obi-Wan, "You should listen to him."

"You should help me!"

"I am helping you. I came to warn you. What you do with that warning is up to you."

Master Tori disappeared before Meleana could question her further, "The Sith is waiting for us upstairs. I guess she changed her mind about waiting until tomorrow night."

"Wonderful."

They climbed the remaining stairs in silence and paused before they reached their floor. Obi-Wan had a somber look on his face. Meleana grabbed him by the collar and kissed him.

"By the end of this we're going to be tied for Sith kills. We'll have to find that second one to even up the count," Meleana said with a wink.

"What's your plan?" He asked. He didn't share her light tone.

"You're not going to like it," Meleana gave him another long deep kiss, and tried not to think of it as the last one, before charging through the door.

She used the Force to boost her speed as she flew through the wide hall towards the library door. She pushed the door inwards with the Force and it flew open. She felt the Sith coming up behind her, then heard a thud as Obi-Wan threw her attacker back with the force. Inside the library was crammed with so many spirits Meleana couldn't make out her friends. She grabbed one in each hand and pulled the energy from them.

Master Windu blew by her to join Obi-Wan in the hall. She grabbed another couple of spirits and searched for her friends. Still unable to find them she shouted over what seemed like quite a commotion to her, but was likely a quiet room to the others.

"Red, get them out of here," she'd just gotten the words out when Obi-Wan went flying through the crowd.

The spirits dispersed as his body flew through them. The first of the long shelves he collided with collapsed, the next stopped him. Meleana ignored him and continued grabbing onto the spirits closest to her. They were beginning to scramble, more than half of them had already dispersed in the confusion. It wouldn't be long before their Master was no longer preoccupied by Master Windu. Meleana felt her body humming with energy. The Dark side no longer clouded her senses. She let the remaining spirits disperse without trying to hinder them. She focused on the Sith's energy in the hall and pulled both hands towards her body. Wood and plaster sprayed the room as the Sith burst through the wall. She jerked the body into the far side of the room. Shelves toppled and splintered as the reanimated corpse was battered against them. Meleana halted the Sith when she had reached the exterior wall and held her there.

"I'm almost impressed," The Sith's voice was gravely, not much remained of Master Tori's windpipes, "Go on Jedi, kill me. Flick your wrist. Snap my neck."

Meleana hesitated and the Sith pushed back with enough energy to send them all flying. She knew as she flew through shelves that her body should be feeling pain. She knew when she eventually stopped moving she would be injured, but she felt nothing. Her whole body tingled, like a limb that had fallen asleep. She used the force to stop her momentum and righted herself. She met a wave of the force from the Sith with her own, only half aware of the sound of her comrades finally toppling their last shelf.

"I'd snap their necks and put an end to this. If I wasn't having so much fun," The Sith croaked with a gruesome grin. She drew both her stolen lightsabers as Obi-Wan and Mace clambered to their feet.

The Sith rushed Meleana who stood unarmed waiting for her to approach. Meleana didn't flinch. It only took a second for her to be surrounded with bodies and lightsabers. The Jedi and the Sith were now a blur of light and heat around her. Meleana kept her eyes on the desiccated arm attached to her lightsaber. When the Jedi were on either side of her she reached out at the advancing enemy. It didn't take much strength for her to pry the arm off lightsaber and all. The Sith's response was not what Meleana had expected. She didn't recoil in pain. She lashed out in anger. The room hummed with energy. Meleana found herself falling alongside her companions. They'd been tossed from the floor... no Meleana realized as the shelves fell with them in a pile of debris. The Sith had blown out the floor. They landed along with wood and stone in a pile on the next floor. The Sith was above them on what remained of the upper floor. Meleana could feel something happening through the force. Something other than the twister of debris that was beginning to turn around them.

She felt her body being yanked upwards, back into the library. She was followed by a wall of debris which settled in to place behind her. She clutched Obi-Wan's lightsaber tightly as she took in what had just happened. She could feel the tickle of blood flowing from wounds all over her body, but she didn't feel the pain of them. Not yet anyway. The floor she was standing on, while not pretty, was solid. The broken walls had also been pieced back together. Until she made another opening she would be trapped with Darth Tormentia. And it was Darth Tormentia who stood before her. She was taller than Meleana had expected and rail thin. It was hard to believe someone who appeared so delicate could be so powerful. Her long blonde hair cascaded down the tight black cat suit the Sith had former for herself. Her impossibly pale skin seemed to glow and made her black eyes even more unsettling.

"I thought I'd enjoy the pleasure of my own form once more before taking yours. I am going to miss myself. What size are you?" The Sith shook her head, "I doubt any of my old clothes will fit... you're a bit bigger in the hips than I'd have liked, but then beggars can't be choosers. You would be amazed how hard it is to find a compatible body donor. I am so looking forward to wearing a skin that won't fall apart on me," She smiled a big happy smile, "You have no idea how long I have waited for this."

"You are burning up quite a bit of energy," Meleana said, genuinely impressed by the Sith's abilities.

"I can't sustain it forever, if you're wondering," Her voice was the one Meleana had heard in her head. Somehow that was more chilling than the croaking the Sith had done before shedding her physical form. Master Tori's lightsaber was still in her clenched fist. "But it won't take forever to finish you."

Meleana tested the floor beneath her with the force and was hit with a wave of dark energy like she'd never felt before. If Obi-Wan and Mace were going to make it back they would have to go the long way.

"What exactly are you hoping to achieve?" The Sith asked pacing slowly around Meleana, "You're best case scenario is to make it out of here and spend the rest of your life draining others to sustain yourself. Let me tell you, it's no fun. Even for someone with my loose morals."

"Then neither one of us will live through this," Meleana managed to sound confident despite the growing feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"You should have taken the easy way out," Alandra raised her hand as she spoke and a storm of force lightning began to form behind her.

All at once the wall of force lightening came at Meleana. Her lightsaber would be useless against it. Meleana reacted without thinking. She raised her free hand and attempted to absorb the wall of energy coming towards her. The lightening pooled in her hand and sent a jolt of electricity up her arm. She winced and pushed the energy back towards the Sith. She easily dodged the hastily thrown shot. It hit the wall behind her, igniting everything it touched.

Alandra launched herself towards Meleana. Their blades clashed in a flurry of motion. The Sith was trying to push Meleana back towards the fire which was consuming the room. Meleana's boost in power may have made her feel invincible, but she doubted very much that she would be able to keep fighting if the smoke got much thicker. She was vaguely aware of a commotion on the other side of the door. Meleana swung high while Alandra was recovering from a hard block. She stuck her in the arm. To Meleana's horror nothing happened. Behind her the door gave way. The crash and shock of fighting an invincible opponent were enough to distract Meleana long enough for Alandra to catch her off guard. Though Meleana raised her lightsaber to defend herself she wasn't fast enough. She deflected the blade, but not enough, it seared into her shoulder as she pushed it away. She screamed and dropped to her knees. Obi-Wan and Mace rushed to her defense and stopped the Sith before she could land another hit on Meleana. As the two Jedi pushed the Sith back Meleana took in the scene around her.

The room was an inferno. The smoke was so thick it would soon be impossible to breath. Her fellow Jedi were fighting a losing battle. The Sith was invincible. The smoke wouldn't kill her. Their blades wouldn't kill her. Meleana may still be able to absorb her, the way she had done with the other spirits, but her energy was draining. She looked down at herself. Her tunic was stained with blood. She looked up at the large window opposite her and the clear skies being illuminated by the rising sun. If she still had the power she might be able to get through the Sith's barricade. Alandra's energy was stretched thin and she was distracted. If she jumped the Sith would follow her. If she could get out Obi-Wan and Master Windu would be safe. She looked at the blur of green blue and purple a few paces away from her. As she watched Obi-Wan was force pushed into the flames. Meleana reached out a hand to stop him.

Her eyes met his for a brief moment. Her resignation must have shown on her face because she could hear him shouting at her as she rushed the Sith. Her own scream drowned out his as she pushed on towards the window at full speed with Tormentia in tow. She focused every ounce of power she had on the barrier between her and the outside world. As she hit the glass she felt herself suspended for a moment. She wanted to try to absorb the Sith, but if she failed she wouldn't get a second chance. She'd already committed to taking her down the hard way. She heard the piercing sound of glass shattering around her as Tormentia's barrier gave way. She had thrown herself impossibly hard at the window. She flew further out than she did down. It was all over in a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. Meleana landed hard without the force to cushion her and without the Sith in her arms to break her fall. She hadn't had time to regroup after expending so much energy breaking the Sith's wall.

Meleana couldn't breathe. She tried, but she couldn't take a breath. She tried to calm herself. She listened to the sound of the water in the stream nearby as she pulled the tiniest breath through her nose. The air here smelled like flowers. The breath she had taken gave her just enough air to cough. Blood filled her mouth. She could here heavy footfalls racing towards her. Maybe Obi-Wan would get there in time. Meleana didn't have time to think of what he would get there in time for. Something dark and terrible closed in around her. She could no longer hear the stream, smell the flowers, or taste blood. The blue sky faded last.


	31. Chapter 31

In the next instant everything came rushing back. Meleana was standing facing the house. She could see Obi-Wan closing in on her. She was so excited to see him she ignored the obvious. She smiled and opened her arms to hug him as he got closer. Her smile faded when he raced straight past her and dropped down to his knees. His momentum carried him the rest of the distance to the body on the ground. Meleana walked slowly towards the feet of the body on the ground and trailed her eyes up from her singed boots. Blood was splattered down her legs. The blood there was nothing compared to the crimson stain on her tunics. A large blood-soaked piece of glass jutted through her chest. She shook her head in disbelief as she watched Obi-Wan slide her blank eyes shut. He didn't need to check her for a pulse. He'd have felt her death through the force before he'd reached her. She saw a tear roll down his cheek. She dropped down on the other side of her corpse and reached a hand out to comfort him.

"I'm right here," She passed right though him. He didn't even seem to notice her energy around him. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and took a breath as he looked down at her. She reached her hand up and trailed it over his jaw, "I'm right here."

Obi-Wan pulled one of the sashes from his tunic and used it to pull the glass from her chest. She tried to look down at her body but couldn't stand the sight of it. Meleana grimaced at the sickening slick sound her flesh made as it relinquished the glass. This couldn't be real. She was just unconscious. She'd just hit her head when she fell. It was a trick the Sith was playing on her to try and break her. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead.

"Please see me," she said holding back a sob. He used the clean end of his tabard to dab the blood away from her mouth, "Obi-Wan... please," He brushed her hair from her face and lay a gentle kiss on her forehead before gathering her into his arms, "Stop it," She tried to pull his arms away from her but again passed through him, "Stop. That isn't me. Please see me."

Obi-Wan knew someone was coming long before they arrived. Master Windu had gone to evacuate the others before the fire could spread. He didn't bother looking up from Meleana to see who it was until their shadow fell over him. Rendain dropped down beside him and picked Meleana's hand up out of the bloody grass.

"Master Windu told us what happened. I should have been there," Rendain shook his head and stared blankly down at Meleana's hand. He looked up, past Obi-Wan. His eyes stayed fixed there a moment before he turned his attention back to the body.

"There was nothing you could have done," Obi-Wan said when he found his voice, "she jumped. She died quickly."

Rendain and Obi-Wan were still sitting together over Meleana's body when Mace and the others joined them. Darlean took one look at her friend before breaking into tears and turning away. Sion wrapped an arm around her to comfort her.

Repairing the ships didn't take long. Meleana had the spare parts they needed on her ship. The sabotage done by the Sith had not been very complex. Darlean and Sion left first. Neither of them had any desire to stay a moment longer than was necessary.

Rendain was staring at the fire still burning in upper levels of the mansion. It seemed to be going out on its own, though it had done plenty of damage to the mansion. He was contemplating setting another when Master Windu walked up beside him.

"It's time you get going," the Jedi Master was not asking.

Rendain looked at him, then back at the house, "You'll recall I do not take orders from the Jedi."

Master Windu shook his head, "Your anger at the Jedi is misplaced-"

Rendain turned to look at the slightly shorter Jedi Master, "Is it? I apologize. Perhaps when you spent my entire childhood making me feel like an abomination you should have mentioned it wasn't personal."

"This may come as a surprise to you Rendain, but your father is not the one who decided to raise you. The choices made regarding your upbringing were made under the advisement of the Jedi Council."

At that Rendain chuckled. He'd never felt anything but disdain from the Jedi.

"None of us would have known how to train the son of a Dathomir Witch. Your connection to the force is unlike ours. We allowed Master Ari to raise you to be sure you were not a danger to yourself or others."

Rendain's eye moved from the fire to one of the ground floor windows, "Well thank you, Master Windu, that is most informative. Unfortunately it looks like I am out of people to visit at the temple though, so you'll have to find other ways of keeping tabs on me."

"Do you mind my asking, how have your powers developed?"

It was rare that anyone asked Rendain what his powers were. For the most part people assumed he was only gifted with the ability to heal, "In addition to healing. I can change my face, have visions of the future, and can turn my abilities around to do a fair but of damage to an opponent. I can also see beings on other planes."

Master Windu seemed intrigued, "Were you able to see the spirits Meleana spoke of?"

Rendain nodded, he still wasn't sure lying to Meleana had been the right course. He would find some way to make it up to her, "Have I answered enough of your questions to convince you I am not a threat to the Jedi order?

Master Windu shook his head, "Obi-Wan and I are leaving. I suggest you do the same."

Rendain looked over towards Obi-Wan and the woman hovering around him,"I can't leave her," He muttered under his breath.

Obi-Wan sat in the control room of the _Jaded Star_ staring out the view screen at hyperspace. He'd spent hours sitting in Meleana's room with her. He kept hoping she would come back, and fearing she would come back as something else. He was both pained and relieved when he'd finally accepted the fact that she was gone. Her body must have been too damaged to be any use to the Sith. Still he expected her to walk into the room at any moment and give him flack for messing with her ship. Master Windu had fallen asleep shortly after reporting to the council. Despite his exhaustion Obi-Wan couldn't sleep. He kept going over everything that had happened since Korriban and wondering what he could have done differently. He was the one who put Meleana into that machine to begin with. If he hadn't been so careless she would have been safe.

He continued to watch the stars fly by as they moved closer to Coruscant. The burning in his eyes eventually subsided. They must have gotten used to being dry.

"What are you doing? Sleeping in the control room?" Meleana leaned up against the control panel and smiled at him.

He stared at her slack jawed. She was wearing one of her little gray nightgowns. The large wound on her chest was nowhere to be seen. A naughty grin lit up her face.

"You look like I caught you in something. What were you doing in here?" She winked at him. "Naughty boy."

"You're alive..."

She stitched her brow, "So let me get this straight, you snuck off to do naughty things in my control room because you thought I was dead... that is a little too kinky. Even for me."

Obi-Wan jumped to his feet and embraced her, "You're alive!"He kissed her as he pulled her in close to him. He felt something warm and wet soaking through into his tunic and pulled her away.

Meleana looked down at the bloody gash that had replaced her once pristine cleavage, "Oh..." she said dipping a finger into the blood, "That's right." She looked at the blood on her fingers then up into his eyes. "You didn't stop me."

Obi-Wan put his hand over her chest to try to stop the bleeding, "No, no, no..."

"Yes, Obi-Wan! You didn't stop me. You didn't help me! You weren't fast enough! And now look at me!"

Obi-Wan looked up from her wound and jumped back. Her eyes were yellow rimmed with red and all of the color had drained from her face.

"You're never fast enough," her voice was low and rough. Nothing like her own.

Obi-Wan jolted awake. The control room was empty and pristine. He looked at his hands, half expecting them to be covered in blood. He marched into Meleana's room with his heart in his throat. He half expected her to be standing there with her lightsaber drawn. Waiting to kill him. Once again she was just a corpse. The peace on her face almost made him forget she'd died a violent death all alone. He knelt on the floor next to the bed and took her ice cold hand in his.

"I'm so sorry."

Returning to Coruscant was both a blessing and curse. Back at the temple there would be distractions. He would no longer be trapped on a ship with the corpse of the woman he loved and a member of the Jedi Council. On the other hand it made everything real. He would have to give a detailed report of everything that had happened. He would have to relive all of it. Meleana would have a funeral. Everyone would move on as though she had never been there at all. Her ship, which had once been a comforting reminder of her presence would sit in the docking bay haunting him with memories of her.

After landing the ship he sat for a few minutes. Preparing himself for the final chapter of his life with her. Preparing himself to behave like a Jedi, and not a man who felt his heart had just been cleaved in two. He could see the medical droid with a stretcher standing outside the ship. He should open the door and let it collect Meleana. He wanted to say goodbye one more time. Master Windu entered the control room.

"The medical droid is waiting to take her."

Obi-Wan nodded and pressed the release for the door.

"I understand you cared very deeply for her. I trust your loss will not impact your duties?"

Obi-Wan took a breath and stood up, "No, Master. Life goes on. She was a dear friend and I will miss her. As I do Qui-Gon."

Mace nodded. The door to the control room opened to reveal a tall silver medical droid.

"Excuse me Master Jedi, but I am unable to locate the casualty reported on this craft."

Obi-Wan and Mace both pushed past the droid to get into Meleana's room. They stopped once inside and stared at the empty bed. Her bloody clothes were laying exactly where they would have been if her body had still occupied them, belt and all.

"Sound the Alarm. I want a security team to look over the security footage for this docking bay immediately. No one goes in or out of the temple without screening."

"Yes Master," the droid replied.

Obi-Wan ran out into the docking bay. It was filled with ships coming and going. There were a handful of human women with long brown hair, all of them were conversing with other Jedi or working on ships. None of them seemed to be making a getaway.

"Jedi Kenobi," Master Windu's voice was commanding. Obviously he didn't want Obi-Wan running after his dead lover. "I will see to it this matter is handled. Return to your quarters. Master Yoda will summon you tomorrow for your mission report."

Obi-Wan took a frustrated breath, "Yes Master."

After his mission report Obi-Wan inquired about the investigation into the disappearance of Meleana's body. There had been no sign of her on any of the security holos. Her picture had been released to planetary security, but no sightings had been reported. The council had decided, for now, that it seemed Meleana had simply become one with the force. Obi-Wan checked his facts in the Jedi archive. Which confirmed that, while it was possible for a Jedi to become one with the force and for their physical form to disappear, it required a good deal of skill. There were also no cases of it occurring long after the death of the Jedi in question. Obi-Wan concluded on his own the the council had no idea what had happened, and didn't want word getting out that they may have just unleashed another Sith onto the galaxy. Still, part of him wanted to believe that Meleana had simply gotten up. That she'd been sick of her life as a Jedi and wanted to start again as someone else. He knew this dream wasn't true, but he liked to believe it anyway. He would need to tell Meleana's friends that she would not be having a funeral. He was not looking forward to explaining why. He could already see the looks of hurt and betrayal in their eyes. They trusted the Jedi and the Jedi failed them. The Jedi had failed themselves. Obi-Wan picked up his holotransmitter. The sooner he got through telling them the sooner he could put this behind him.

As weeks turned into months Obi-Wan stopped seeing Meleana every time he left the temple. He stopped visiting her ship at night when he couldn't sleep. She slowly stopped haunting his dreams. He put the holos of her away where he wouldn't be tempted to look at them any more. To anyone who didn't know him well he had gone back to normal. Qui-Gon and Meleana had both been freer spirits than he had. After losing both of them he found himself laughing less. He was stricter with Anakin than he'd ever been. He'd stopped having fun as he had before. The Jedi council was impressed with his training of Anakin. The Jedi were not likely to criticize one of their own for being too serious.

****Hello all, this story is soon coming to an end, because as I went on I realized part 2 was too big. It needed to be its own story. This second story is 1 mission, which means things will be fleshed out a good deal more than they are here. The next chapter of "Opposites Attract" will be the last, but it wasn't really intended to end there. The good news, I am in my final semester of school so I will finally be an author who can update regularly! I am hoping to find a Beta reader, as story 2 is already 68,000 words. I want to thank all of you for reading. I was always very nervous about sharing my work, but finally thought "well, if one other person likes it, then I guess it was worth writing to amuse them." I am so pleased to have had so many positive words of encouragement over the years and hope story 2 is even better, and much more timely.*****


	32. Chapter 32

Garen did not often frequent cantina's, but given his transport had been docked at a space-station with nothing but a cantina and a repair shop for hours he decided it was worth a try. They had found themselves in a bind on the outer edge of the mid-rim, and this station was the only place in range to get the repair work done they needed. Unfortunately getting the work done meant they had a very long wait in store. The station was run down. Tucked so far out of the way the only people who frequented it were those who didn't want to be seen. Judging by the activity level in the cantina, and the number of ships docked, that was enough for the station to turn a hefty profit.

Garen was seated at a small table in the far corner of the cantina. He wanted to be out of the way, and stay out of sight as much as possible. He guessed that this group would not welcome a Jedi into their midst. The room was poorly lit, perhaps on purpose, which made it difficult to make out the faces of people who were more than a few paces away. He watched as people conducted "business", flirted, fought, and stumbled drunkenly out while sipping one drink after another. After a while he began to notice one of the other patrons had been conducting more "business" than any of the others. One after another people would come in, sit with her for a while, and then moved on. She wasn't a dealer, they stayed too long for that. His curiosity peaked Garen began focusing all of his attention on the woman at the other end of the room. Her current interviewee was quite large, and blocked the woman from Garen's view. What he could make out from their body language looked relaxed enough. The man talking to her wasn't nervous. Their business concluded and the man left the cantina. Garen squinted in the dim light to get a better view of the woman's face. It seemed impossible, but from where he sat she was the spitting image of Meleana Ariadne. He could have been wrong. It was dark. He hadn't seen her in well over a year, and she was dead.

Garen picked up his drink and made his way towards the open seat at her table before another body took his place. He wasn't sure what to say, "You look like a dead girl I used to know", "Are you Meleana Ariadne? Her sister maybe?". Finally he settled on, "Can I buy you a drink?"

The woman, who up close bared a shocking resemblance to his fallen comrade arched her brow. She didn't look like she wanted a drink.

"I'm sorry," He said before she could shoot him down. "I'm terrible at this whole flirting thing. I just... I've been watching you from across the room. I figured you were here with your boyfriend, but when he left... well I didn't want to miss out on the chance to talk to the most beautiful woman in the room."

The way the woman's eyes trailed over him made Garen uneasy. The jovial spark that was so often glinting in Meleana's eyes was nowhere to be seen in this woman's sharp gaze.

"I'm Garen," He said extending a hand towards her. He needed to do something to stop her from staring at him.

"Garen," she took the hand he offered up. She held it rather than shake it and examined him, "tell me, Garen, how did such a clean cut young man end up in my space station? We aren't typically frequented by your kind."

Her voice was more unnerving than her eyes. She spoke with Meleana's voice, but there was something off about it. It was a little too low. She spoke slower. Her accent was every so slightly different. He pulled back his hand when she didn't release it.

"Your space station?" she nodded but offered nothing else. "That's quite an accomplishment, owning a space station at your age."

"I'm older than I look. Did you come here just to look for pretty girls, Garen?" There was nothing flirtatious or playful about her tone.  
>Garen was beginning to think he'd made a mistake when he sat down at her table, "My ship needed some repairs."<p>

"And you just happened to be near my space station in the middle of nowhere?"

Garen shook his head, "I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what you're getting at." He was trying to keep his tone light despite the accusation in the woman's voice.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked in the same cool tone. Her eyes were locked on him.

He shook his head. He really had no idea who she was, or why she had become so hostile so quickly, "You haven't introduced yourself yet."

She arched her brow and narrowed her eyes, "You recognized me. I'm a little insulted that you didn't think I'd notice."

"You look like an old friend of mine, but she's no longer with us. You couldn't possibly be her."

She kept her eyes on him a moment longer before leaning back in her chair, "Is that all? Your friend died? And you think I look like her?"

He laughed nervously, "What else would it be?"

The more she stared the more Garen wanted to get up and run out of the cantina. The repairs couldn't be done fast enough as far as he was concerned. She had the upper hand in this interaction for more reasons than one.

"Go back to your ship, Garen. Your repairs will be finished and you will be on your way. When you return to your temple tell Master Windu I say hello."

"Who should I say-"

"Do as you're told," Her voice was velvety smooth now, "I don't think either one of us wants any trouble. I am sure Master Windu will be able to clear up any questions you have."

Garen wasn't sure what to say. Her mentioning Master Windu had added another confusing dimension to things. How did this woman know anything about the Jedi? Things were very wrong here. He'd gotten the sense that their was more to Meleana's death than Obi-Wan had told him. Sitting with this woman he began to wonder if her death had just been a coverup for something else. Something the Jedi didn't want made public.

The woman let out a frustrated sigh as when he didn't budge. "I don't want to deal with my men thinking I've let a Jedi sneak past me, but I will if you do not leave now. I would rather you left before you were noticed, but I would rather they notice a corpse than a drinking companion. Go back to your ship. When your repairs are finished leave. If you make any attempts to send a transmission I will kill you and everyone with you. Leave now without any trace of your presence and you may keep your life."

Garen wasn't sure thinking things through would help anything. He hoped the repairs were finished quickly so he could contact the temple. Whoever this woman was she knew Maser Windu, and she had no interest in cooperating with the Jedi. Garen stood and left without another word. Learning more about this woman wasn't worth the life of his crew.

It was dark where Anakin was, but he could hear a woman humming. It wasn't a song he'd ever heard before, yet there was something familiar about the sound. He walked towards it, using the force to guide him in the dark. As he moved closer to the sound light began to fill the corridor through gaps in the door ahead of him. He touched the door hesitantly. Suddenly he wasn't so sure he wanted to see what was on the other side. Curiosity got the better of him and he slowly pressed the door open. He froze in the door frame and took in the sight in front of him. A woman was sitting cradling the body of another in the center of a pool of blood. The perfect circle of red around them was the only party of the room that appeared solid. The rest was a shifting gray expanse. The humming woman's long brown hair covered her face as well as to woman she was cradling. The humming stopped and the woman looked up at him. She looked like Meleana, only her eyes were yellow and rimmed with red. He took a deep breath to calm himself as her malicious gaze locked on him. He looked down at the body she was holding. Pale and lifeless Meleana hardly looked like herself. He jumped when her eyes shot open and she reached out towards him.

"Help me!"

Anakin opened his eyes and sat up in bed. He looked around the room and tried to remember where he was. The cold reminded him he and Obi-Wan were on route to a mission.

"Everything alright?" His Master said in a groggy voice.

He must have shouted if he'd woken Obi-Wan, "I had a vision... at least I think I did," Anakin knew his Master didn't approve of him interpreting his dreams as visions of the future.

"Anakin-"

"Did a Sith kill Meleana?" He said before Obi-Wan could lecture him again.

During Obi-Wan's silence he wasn't sure if he had only succeeded in getting himself into more trouble. He heard his Master sit up in bed before he flicked on the light.

"What did you see?"

"I saw the Sith with Meleana's body," Anakin shook is head. He wanted to say he thought Meleana was alive, but something about that seemed false, "She isn't dead, Master."

Obi-Wan's expression did not give away any emotions, "She is dead. I saw her body myself. Go back to sleep," He shut off the light.

"She needs our help."

"Go to sleep, Anakin," Obi-Wan said curtly.

Anakin didn't say another word, but he knew he was right. He had no reason to dream about Meleana. He'd always thought she was a little off, and she'd been gone for at least a year. His vision was real. Meleana was alive, somewhere, and she needed their help.

~To Be Continued~

Thank you for reading. The next story is almost finished and I am waiting to get the whole thing done (or 90% done) before I post so I won't run into the same long pauses I did with this one. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read, and especially those who took the time to review and PM me. May the Force be With you.


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